and "A" is for effort. When Project Spectrum rolled around this year, I wasn't going to join initially since I knew the one month time frame would be tight for me. But when Lolly changed it to two months with multiple colors, I knew I had a better chance at actually participating and completing color-minded projects. Plus the fact that blue was one of the colors for the first "quarter" would help motivate me to finish two lingering WIPs, the Asymmetrical Cardigan from Knitting Nature and a pair of knee highs. But even despite trying to think blue for the month, I still don't have two finished blue objects for you. The knee highs would have been finished, but I ran out of elastic to finish the cuff on the second sock. I just haven't had time to hit up the LYS for some more. The Asymmetrical Cardi is reaaaally close to being done. I just have to do a graft job, wash and block, knit the cuffs, collar and band and seam. I'm aiming for the end of the month to finish both. And I've already got a project lined up for the next quarter as well.

In my exploration of baking and cooking, I've suddenly been propelled into the world of foodie blogs. Who'd have thought they'd be as interesting as knitting and craft blogs? How naive, right? One thing I've discovered about foodie blogs is that they will make you hungry, so don't surf before a meal. One of the good things about a foodie blog compared to a knit/craft blog is that you can "instantly" sate your hunger by cooking or finding an establishment that will cook for you (We all have to eat sooner or later, right?). One of the bad things about a foodie blog compared to a knit/craft blog is that you can "instantly" sate your hunger by cooking or finding an establishment that will cook for you (if you don't control yourself, that waistline will soon disappear. Yipes!).

So have a gander at some of my favorite foodie blog finds, and enjoy!

101 Cookbooks
delicious:days
everybody likes sandwiches
Fatfree Vegan Kitchen
Orangette
Smitten Kitchen
tsogb

And as if don't already have enough blogs to look at already, if you've got a favorite foodie blog, please share!

And lastly, for those have you that have become increasingly smitten by the kitchen as well, I've included a list of handy links I've come across the past two weeks.

Confused by different types of yeast? Cooking for Engineers lays it all out here.

Want to try some of that silcone bakeware? Read this before you buy.

Wondering if that 4 year old bottle of garlic salt is still good? It's definitely time for some pantry spring cleaning.

Bought medium or extra large eggs instead of large ones? All is not lost. Find out how to substitute them here.

Susan, Beth and Kevin are right. If there ever was a fear of baking bread (of the kneading variety), making pizza is the perfect way to to cure it. B and I finally decided to make pizza this week and I, obviously, was in charge of the crust. I decided to use Beth's Pizza Dough Recipe. I followed it exactly except for substituing using all-purpose flour for bread flour (Oddly, the market was out. I didn't know there was a huge demand for bread flour during Easter). Every thing went smoothly until it was time to shape the first pizza. Not thinking, I took the first third of the dough and started trying to shape it. Let's just say that when you take a rectangular log-ish shaped portion of dough and try to flatten and shape it into a circle, you won't be very successful.

Once it was my desired thickness, fairly thin, I realized it may be too big for our pizza stone. The remedy? Line up some crushed garlic along the perimeter of the dough and then fold and seal the edge of the dough over it. Garlic stuffed crust! Being that I was in charge of the crust and not really thinking about toppings and B forgetting we were making pizza, we didn't have a very large selection of toppings. Fortunately he had some shredded mozzarella and romano cheese and tomatoes at home and I had pasta sauce and asparagus. And 1, 2, 3... we have pizza!

Pizza 1: Tomato pizza with garlic stuffed crust

Pizza 2: Asparagus and tomato pizza

Pizza 3: Two cheese pizza

The results were yummy! I couldn't stop from staring into the oven to watch the pizza cook, all bubbly and golden. The first pizza came out a bit off as B decided we needed to put cornmeal on the parchment before putting the dough on it. He didn't realized that I was going to be putting the pizza in with the parchment and thought the cornmeal was needed to help the dough slide off the paper. What the cornmeal ended up doing in this case was creating a less than crisp crust. Our theory is that the cornmeal kind of steamed the crust instead of allowing it to crisp up against the pizza stone. The crust on the other two were done without the cornmeal and they came out perfect. It wasn't floppy and had the perfect texture for a thinner crust pizza, chewy, firm and not too doughy.

Next time I will try to make a thicker crust. Given my fear of play-doh, the last thing I wanted happen in my first bread making experience was to discover undercooked dough as bite into my pizza (which as happened to me before and absolutely ruined my meal). Now that I'm more confident in my pizza dough skills, I will definitely attempt a thicker crust pizza.

Some things to remember for my future pizza making endeavors..

1. Don't stretch out the dough too much while shaping it. It will distort as you transfer it to the parchment for baking (hence why pizza #3 isn't exactly round). A remendy for this could be putting the dough on the parchment just before finishing up the shaping.
   
2. Plan toppings in advance. I definitely will use fresh mozzarella the next time around and also remember to get some fresh herbs as well. And if there's time, I definitely want to make my own sauce, too.
   
3. Deseed fresh tomatoes or they'll "soggify" your pizza
   

This pizza dough experience was definitely an accomplishment for me. Not only did I make something that actually tasted like it's supposed to but I also got some validation as well. This is a very little known fact, but one of papaFasu's first jobs in San Francisco was at a pizza parlor. So of course he's a self-proclaimed expert on pizza, especially on the crust. So when he saw that I made pizza, he immediately displayed his skepticism. "You made pizza? You can't make pizza like that. Don't you know I used to make pizza?" He then picks up a slice, takes a bite, and says surprisingly, "This will work," which in papaFasu speak translates to, "This isn't half bad." He was impressed. So of course I'm smiling inside and say back to him, "You better know you whose daughter I am."**

So papaFasu, this crust's for you.

**(That's probably horrible grammar, but it's the best English translation I could come up with -- of course now that I think of it, the better translation for that would be, "Don't you know who my father is?").

It hasn't been all cooking successes over here at bahn yaiAnn. Last weekend for Easter I decided I was going to bake a loaf of No Knead Bread for B's family's Easter get-together. Inspired by Veronica's double batch loaf, I decided to make a double batch loaf myself. Be warned, if you're going to attempt a double loaf, make sure you try to fold it up as compact as possible so that it fits when you put it in your dutch oven. Mine didn't fit so well, so some of it ended up on the edge and side of the pot. Anyways, when I took the lid off halfway through, I had a bad feeling about the loaf, but hoped that it would turn out. When I finally took it out, it looked really odd. It was slightly burnt at the top (probably because my rack was a bit high given that I doubled the recipe. What was really odd was that it didn't come out of the pot! It was literally STUCK! I usually stick a knife or fork into the side of the pot and use it as a lever to get the bread out. Except this time, it wasn't budging! I even flipped the pot upside down to dump it out.. no movement. This was definitely not good. As I wacked the bottom of the pot to try to get the darn loaf out, the sound it was making wasn't too promising. It was almost thud-like. So I decided to throw in the towel. No no knead bread for B's family. When it was finally cool for me to handle, I pulled the loaf out and it looked liked this:

It was heavy and there was no crust on the bottom. It almost resembled a cake like texture, as if the bottom was steamed. Even mamaFasu asked me what kind of bread that was. And embarrassingly I said, "That's not how it's supposed to be." She wasn't around for my first no knead attempts, so hopefully this won't traumatize her. And at that point I was scared to even cut it open to see what it looked like on the inside. Because of its weight, I was afraid it was undercooked inside. So it sat in the pot on the counter in the kitchen for a few days until last night when I finally had the courage to slice it open.

And to my surprise, it looked fine. Then I realized what went "wrong." I used up a lot of my all purpose flour for my pizza dough. So when it was time to mix my double batch of no knead, I only had enough AP flour for 4 out of the 6 cups needed. To make up the remainder, I used white whole wheat flour thinking it wouldn't affect it that much. Guess who was wrong. *raises hand* When I was reading up on no knead before I took the dive, I read about people's experiences substituting flours and trying to make it healthier with whole wheat flour. What they discovered was that whole wheat flour created a denser bread since it does not rise as much as white flour. So silly me thought that white whole wheat wouldn't make that much of a difference compared to whole wheat flour. But yes, yes it does. And I forgot about that when I pulled it out of the oven and tried to pry it out of the pot. So how does it taste? I honestly have no idea. I'm a bit scared to taste as it's been sitting on the counter in the pot for 5 days before I sliced it open. I sniffed the crumb and it smells fine, and papaFasu even snuck a taste and said it was good. So I'm sure it's fine and I could probably use it for something else, but I'm not sure what. Any ideas?

Then last night I decided to make my first recipe from one of my favorite foodie blogs.

Gâteau au Citron fresh out of the oven

I wanted to make my parent's a not so sweet dessert so I decided to use Orangette's receipe for Gâteau au Citron. It was a simple recipe using pantry items. The only think I did different was to use soy yogurt instead of regular yogurt. As you can see, the cake looked perfect coming out of the oven and it also smelled great (lemony -- one of my favorite scents). Then when I went to glaze it, something had happpened.

It did the dip!

It sank! I'm not sure if this was supposed to happen, but I glazed it anyways. Food is food, my family will eat it. But I probably should have put the cake bottom side up as the glaze didn't soak into the cake and collected in the dip. I spread it around and let the glaze drip onto the sides and collect on the edge of the plate where I then lifted up the bottom edges to let the glaze soak in at the bottom of the cake. Verdict? Not bad, except that the middle of the cake was mushy (probably due to the glaze collecting in the middle. The cake was light, flavor was okay. I definitely will make this again to see if can right my wrongs.

And lastly, (you can consider this my eye candy Friday submission) I think we can expect a lot of good to come out of this.

Happy Friday!

Two bars of premium baking chocolate, inspiration from a cooking magazine, and an invitation to dinner gave me a good reason to make some special cupcakes. After flipping through the latest issue of Everyday Food, I was inspired by their "nostalgic desserts" spread to one up their "hostess" cupcake recipe. Their recipe was for an unfrosted chocolate cupcake made with cocoa powder and filled with some jazzed up store-bought marshmallow creme. With some very yummy chocolate in the pantry and some of my favorite recipes, I set out to bake my version of the cupcakes.

Don't you feel like a kid again?

And yes, they're filled!

This whole food blogging and posting recipes thing is still all new to me. I know the copyright limits and such for knitting, but this food/recipe thing is whole different story. Since I didn't change or alter any recipes while making these cupcakes, I don't feel comfortable writing out any of the recipes I've used. So what you'll get is my "formula" for putting these together in which you can either look up the recipes I've used or use your own personal favorites.

Chocolate Fauxstess Cupcakes

cupcake: Chocolate cupcakes, "More from Magnolia"
filling and "squiggle": Seven Minute Icing, "More from Magnolia"
frosting: Chocolate glaze, "Cupcakes!"

Bake cupcakes as directed except do not use liners. Pour the batter directly into the pan, making sure to spray the muffin pan with vegetable spray to prevent sticking. While the cupcakes are baking, prepare your frosting and let cool. I found out that the chocolate glaze recipe that I used is basically a ganache recipe. If you are using a different recipe, I would select either a ganache or something that is fairly easy to spread and will set a bit to give it the most authentic look possible. Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a melon baller to scoop out the middle of the cupcakes from the top.

Fill me!

Next make the filling. The Seven Minute Icing recipe I used instructs you to use it immediately once it has been made, which is why I scooped middles out first. If you choose a different recipe that does not require immediate use, you can prepare it ahead of time. Fill a pastry bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off with the filling and fill the cupcakes.

Replace the tops on the cupcakes, making sure to slice off the bottom half (otherwise it won't fit flush). Brush any crumbs off the tops of the cupcakes and frost. Fit the pastry bag with the filling with a writing tip or use another ziploc bag with a smaller piece of corner cut off and have fun making squiggles across the top of the cupcakes. Once you're done, admire and enjoy!

Now where's the milk?

Some random and not so random notes:
I made these cupcakes without liners because I wanted them to look like their original counterparts. Keep in mind that the cupcakes will dry out faster without liners. So if you choose to make them without liners, you should serve them immediately as they taste best the day they are made. Even if you put them in a airtight container overnight, they will still dry out a bit.

It's funny how some recipes dome more than others. The Magnolia chocolate cupcake recipe, in particular, domes a LOT. I've found that prefer flatter cupcakes as they're easier to frost.

Before you go thinking that my blog has completely turned foodie on you, I'll have to let you know that I have been knitting. There are so many new things out there I want to knit, but I'm forcing myself to finish all my wips and clean out my stash before I'm allowed to even start a new project or buy yarn. So far so good, because I'll have a few new things to show you in the very near future. And boy does it feel good to be really close to starting off with a clean slate! So pardon me for the moment as I have some finishing to do.

I think there's something in the air. Because for the past week, all I can think about is starting something new. A pair of socks, a shawl, a sweater, something, ANYTHING! Is it because I've set this goal for myself to finish all my WIPs before anything else and I'm just craving the thing I can't have? Or is it because all you darn bloggers keep tempting and distracting me with ideas for new projects? Or could it be something else altogether?

This morning I walked out of the house with those items you see there. I wasn't until I was walking to the Farmers Market that I realize I was screaming Project Spectrum. Maybe it's a combination of me wanting to start something new and wanting to knit up the greens in my stash, the sock yarn, the laceweight and some felted tweed. Whatever the case may be, it's definitely been a green day.

Dinner, anyone?

My dinner tonight came out of my apple green Le Creuset. What's inside? A creation inspired by and adapted from another Everyday Food recipe, curried Lentils in tomato sauce from the March 2007 issue. Using what I had I in my pantry I came up with my own version.

Curried Lentils and Tomatoes
adapted from Curried Lentils in tomato sauce, Everyday Food March 2007

3 tablespoons oil oil
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 1-inch piece of ginger finely chopped
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup uncooked lentils
1 can 20oz diced tomatoes
juice from 1 lime

Prepare lentils by rinsing them and placing them in a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a skillet (or in my case, a 2qt dutch oven) and add onions and ginger. Cook for about 5-8 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking until onions begin to brown and caramelize. Add spices and stir for about a minute. Add lentils and tomatoes and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add lime juice and salt to taste and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve over your preferred grain (shown with short grain brown rice).

Notes:
Not bad for my first try at adapting a recipe. It's good but not amazing. This is relatively spicey, so if you're not accustomed to spice, you may want to omit the cayenne and adjust the other spices accordingly. I can't compare this to the original as I haven't made it, but the original may be tastier as it calls for a jar of tomato sauce. Since I didn't have any, I used what I had. So this version of it may be a bit more bland since tomato sauce comes seasoned. Also, if you're planning on cooking for one or two, you might want to halve the recipe. The original calls for pre-cooked canned lentils and I kind of guessed the amount of uncooked lentils to use. If I had to guess the amount of people this recipe serves, I'd say 6. Let's just put it this way. It filled my 2qt dutch oven and if I don't find some people to feed, I'm going to be eating this for a week. Anyone want to come over for dinner?

Clearing out the WIP list means FO's galore! Let's start with socks, shall we? Yes, we shall..

Pattern: Raindrop knee highs, based on Craftoholic's Mata Hari socks
Yarn: Yarn Pirate in Rain, 1 skein + 8g
Extras: Rainbow Elastic 1mm fine in color 16
Needles: 2mm Addi Turbos
Started: October 17, 2006
Finished: April 19, 2007

Notes:
These socks were done back in February, until one rainy day I decided to wear them out to go with B to pick up his mom. The only walking I did was to and from the car and with that minimal walking, the knee highs slid all the way down my leg! Definitely not having that. So I undid the ribbing and picked up some elastic and knit it in. Keeping the 2x2 ribbing that I inititally did, I knit two with the yarn only, purled 2 with the yarn and elastic held together and repeated to the end of the round. And the result, no slide socks! I have no gripes with these socks at all, only that I wished I finished them sooner because spring is here and summer is coming. Boo!

Pattern: 3x1 ribbed socks
Yarn: Regia Cotton Surf, 1 skein, color 5420
Needles: 2.25mm Crystal Palace dpns
Started: October 2006
Finished: March 2007

Notes:
Just your basic sock in a cotton/wool yarn. I found it on sale at my LYS and wanted to test it out as I wanted to have options for non wool socks to wear during the warmer months. The socks feel great on, but not so good to knit with. They didn't feel like string, but it wasn't a pleasure to knit with like wool. It's a little on the sticky on the needles compared to wool. It was first experience with this yarn and will probably be my last.

Pattern: papaFasu socks aka your basic short cuff stockinette stitch sock
Yarn: Regia Line Steps Color, 1 skein, color 5370
Needles: 2.25mm Inox
Started: January 2007
Finished: April 2007

Notes:
These were supposed to be papaFasu's birthday socks in February, but as life happens, they didn't get done in time and since they were late anyways, better late than never, right? hee hee... Nothing revelational to say about these socks except for the fact that I almost cried over them. (I couldn't find them and had a bad feeling that I had lost them and my only pair of 2.25mm circular needles on the bus -- a tragic situation where I thought they might have fallen out of my bag as I was digging around for something. I was about to give up on them and was too embarrassed to call Muni to ask if they had found them. Then my hero suggested I check around my desk at work since that was the last place I had worked on them. And what do you know, they were hiding behind my computer tower!

And the last pair of socks, not knit by me, but by Carolyn to which I owe a VERY belated thanks and shout out. Thank you sooo much! I love them and looooove Koigu!

Not only am I clearing out the WIP pile, I'm clearing out some of my stash too. Have a lookie, there are freebies, too (all you have to do is pay for shippping)!

Thanks for all the props on the knee highs. I really do love them, too. Just a little disappointed that the weather is getting a bit too warm for them. But some good news for those of you who love them too, my leftover yarn (and there is a LOT of it) is for sale, too.

And FYI -- I'll be away from email during the day so if you're interested in anything, I won't be able to respond until the evening.

Happy Shopping!