Easy quinoa

To say that quinoa is becoming popular wouldn't be very accurate, because this trend is nothing new.
Why are people going crazy for this grain? Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WAH for those of you new to it) can be used as a substitute for rice in most dishes, it has a rich, nutty flavor (if you cook it right), and it's healthier than rice. It's even considered a complete protein!
Don't be intimidated by this awesome grain, it is so simple to make.
Ready?  Here you go:
You are going to need 2 cups of broth for every 1 cup of quinoa you want to make (that would yield about 3 cups, obv)
Measure out the quinoa in a dry measuring cup and then pour that into a fine mesh sieve.  Rinse it well, and then pour into a medium sized pot.
Turn the heat on and cook it until it is thouroughly dry, and then a little longer (it'll start to smell a little rich and nutty and the color might darken slightly) to bring out the flavor.















**These first 2 steps are so important!  When I skip the rinse, it tastes slightly bitter, and if I don't "roast" it first, it can taste a little bland)
Now that your quinoa is dry and crispy, pour the liquid in.  I'll do 2 cups of chicken broth, again for flavor.  If you are nervous about that, you can do 1 cup broth, 1 cup water, or even 2 cups of just water.















Heat on high until you bring this to a boil















Reduce the heat to low, cover with a matching lid, and LEAVE IT ALONE for 15 minutes.















After the timer's up, fluff it up a little and you're done!















You can see it's ready when the quinoa is translucent and the little spirals start to separate a little bit

Easy turquoise earrings

Made these as a gift for someone, and I can't wait to make them again.  I think using other stones would make great variations.  Here's what you need:
Sterling silver ear hooks
Small sterling chain
a bunch of sterling head pins, probably 22 gauge or similar
assorted small drilled through stones, I used turquoise

For anyone who has done any wire wrapping at all, this could not be easier!
Insert a stone into a headpin, then start a loop- feed through a section of the chain, and wrap the loop closed.
To get this look, I added only 1 or 2 stones toward the top, then in the middle section grouped a bunch really closely, then had about 3 stones spaced out at the bottom of the chain.
Slip the top hole of the chain through the ear wire, then twist the earwire shut.
Good job!

Sock texture pattern

After making my first pair of socks (check these out) my husband asked me to make him a pair of socks.  He didn't want any self-patterning yarn, he just wanted a plain color.  Of course I couldn't make a plain sock, so I looked all around for a "masculine" looking pattern for a texture, but didn't find anything I loved, so I decided to make my own, and came up with an awesome diamond pattern!  
(As always, I use the Sock Wizard for the sock pattern itself)

Just getting started, but the diamond is already coming out nicely

It's  subtle, but gives it a little "something," you know what I mean?
For his sock, I used Cascade Yarns Heritage Silk- it is super soft

This texture works for anything with counts of 14. 
Row 1:    *k5 p3 k6, repeat from * to end of row
Row 2:    k4 p 5 k5, repeat from * to end of row
Row 3:    k3 p3 k1 p3 k4, repeat from * to end of row
Row 4:    k2 p3 k3 p3 k3, repeat from * to end of row
Row 5:    k1 p3 k5 p3 k2, repeat from * to end of row
Row 6:    p3 k7 p3 k1, repeat from * to end of row
Row 7:    p2 k9 p3, repeat from * to end of row
Row 8:    p1 k11 p2, repeat from * to end of row
Row 9:    p2 k9 p3 (is the same as row 7), repeat from * to end of row
Row 10:    p3 k7 p3 k1 (is the same as row 6), repeat from * to end of row
Row 11:    k1 p3 k5 p3 k2 (is the same as row 5), repeat from * to end of row
Row 12:    k2 p3 k3 p3 k3 (is the same as row 4), repeat from * to end of row
Row 13:    k3 p3 k1 p3 k4 (is the same as row 3), repeat from * to end of row
Row 14:    k4 p 5 k5 (is the same as row 2), repeat from * to end of row

Stuffed mushrooms

I found an old old blog of mine from grad school and found this recipe I made.  I do remember it was DELICIOUS.  I used ricotta and chopped up some edam scheese, then sliced off the stems of the mushrooms, and spinach, and chopped them up.  I mixed those together with crushed garlic, basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper and some grated parmesan, then filled the mushrooms.  I baked them for about 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.  I can't wait to make them again!

Here is what they looked like before going into the oven:

And when they're ready to eat:

Quasi-Paleo cheesy garlic cauliflower bread

I've had a craving for pizza forever for a while now, but I've been trying to eat healthier- follow a quasi-paleo diet (I could never completely give up cheese or any dairy)

Found a few great cauliflower garlic bread recipes, thanks to Pinterest- and modified them to make my own deliciousness

 

I also make the best marinara sauce you've ever tasted, thankyouverymuch (I know, I am so modest with my cooking)

 

This is definitely a repeat- soon!
Here's what you're going to need:
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
Rolling Pin (optional)
Food processor (highly recommended, or else you'll be chopping for a long time)
2 small-medium mixing bowls
1 small regular bowl

Dough ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower, riced
1/2 cup shredded mozarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
 1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 clove crushed garlic
1 tsp dried garlic powder
1 pinch salt

Topping ingredients:
2 Tbspn softened butter
2 cloved finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup shredded mozarella
1/4 cup shredded parmesan

Chop the cauliflower, then pulse in a food processor until riced

Scoop this into a baking dish and cook at 350 for 15 minutes

After you take it out, let it cool a little, then transfer to a cheesecloth or clean dish towel and squeeze the heck out of it- you want to get as much liquid out of it as possible

Turn the oven up to 450
Mix together the riced cauliflower, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, beaten egg, crushed garlic, garlic powder, oregano, rosemary, and salt

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and shape dough into a thin rectangle with your hands, or temporarily cover with a second sheet of parchment and roll out

Until it looks roughly like this:

The uncooked dough was already making my kitchen smell delish

Then place in the oven for 20 minutes.  If you don't like yours too crispy, only cook it for 15 minutes

While that's cooking, mix together the softened butter and the other cloves of garlic

Mmmm.. yummy buttery goodness

Also mix together the cheese topping- the rest of the mozarella and parm

When the dough is cooked to golden and crispy, brush on the butter mixture, then sprinkle the cheese on top.
Put back in the oven about 5-ish minutes, until cheese has melted.  I kept it in longer, wanting brown bubbly cheese, but it did dry the cheese top out a little bit, so next time I will limit it to 5 min.

ENJOY!
My husband and I practically ate the whole thing in 1 sitting!

Basketweave knit socks

When I had started learning to knit, I wanted to make a pair of socks, but had no idea how.  I was given a very sweet gift from a family member that included a set of DPNs (double point needles), sock yarn, and advice to use an amazing software program to get sock knitting patterns

If you've never knit a sock before, it probably seems pretty daunting.  I know I was very intimidated the first time I tried to make one (what are you supposed to do with all those needles?)
You. Need. This. Software.
Sock wizard is a great program- when you open it up, you just plug in all the information such as how many needles you plan on using, how many stitches per inch, which direction you want to knit, shoe size, etc, and it gives you an easy to read pattern to make socks to perfectly fit your feet!
You can download it for windows here or if you have a mac, download it for free from the app store.

Next, you want to pick your design/texture.  This basketweave pattern is for stitches with multiples of 8. Credit goes to an awesome sock reference book Vogue Knitting The Ultimate Sock Book which I highly recommend picking up.  It'll teach you everything you need to know about knitting socks, plus some beautiful design textures
 Texture:
Rounds 1, 2, and 3: *p6, k2; repeat from * to end
Round 4: knit
Rounds 5, 6, and 7: *p2, k2, p4; repeat from * to end
Round 8: knit
Repeat Rounds 1-8 to desired length

 For a size 6 sock:
Sock Wizard Pattern

Shoe Size: Woman 6
Style: Cuff to Toe Length: Standard
Gauge: 8.00 sts, 10.00 rws  per inch.
Needles: 4 dpn

Estimated Yardage: 288

Finished Measurements:
Circumference: leg = 7.12", foot = 7.12"
Length:  cuff = 1.50",  leg = 6.00", heel = 2.25", foot = 9.06"

Pattern Repeat Options
[2] [4] [7] [8] [14] [28]

Cast on 56 sts loosely.
Divide sts on 3 dpns as follows:
N1: 14 heel sts
N2:  28 instep sts
N3: 14 heel sts
Join. BOR

Cuff:
Work cuff in pattern stitch for 16 rnds. [1.50"] End at BOR.

Leg:
Work in leg pattern stitch for 60 rnds. Complete sts on N2. Stop. [7.50" total from the cast on edge.]

Heel Flap with Heel Stitch:
Slip N3 sts onto N1. [28 sts]

With RS facing, work back and forth as follows:
Rw 1: *Sl 1 purlwise, k1. Repeat from * to end.
Rw 2: Sl 1 purlwise, p to end.
Repeat these 2 rows until 30 rows are complete. [2.25 "]

Turn Heel:
Note: Sl 1 = sl1 purlwise
Round Heel
Rw 1: (RS) K 15 , ssk, k1. Turn.
Rw 2: (WS) Sl 1, p 3, p2tog, p1. Turn
Rw 3: (RS) Sl 1, k 4, ssk, k1. Turn.
Rw 4: (WS) Sl 1, p 5, p2tog, p1. Turn.
Rw 5: (RS) Sl 1, k 6, ssk, k1. Turn.
Rw 6: (WS) Sl 1, p 7, p2tog, p1. Turn.
Rw 7: (RS) Sl 1, k 8, ssk, k1. Turn.
Rw 8: (WS) Sl 1, p 9, p2tog, p1. Turn.
Rw 9: (RS) Sl 1, k 10, ssk, k1. Turn.
Rw 10: (WS) Sl 1, p 11, p2tog, p1. Turn.
Rw 11: (RS) Sl 1, k 12, ssk, k1. Turn.
Rw 12: (WS) Sl 1, p 13, p2tog, p1. Turn.
Rw 13: (RS) Sl 1, k 14, ssk. Turn.
Rw 14: (WS) Sl 1, p 14, p2tog. Turn.
16 sts remain.
Work 8 sts. BOR

Heel Gusset:
With a free needle, knit remaining 8 heel sts. [N1]
Continuing with the same needle, pick up 15 sts along the side of the heel.
Pick up and knit a st from row below the first instep st to prevent a hole. [N1: 24 sts total]
With a free needle, work across 28 instep sts. [N2]
With free needle, pick up and knit from row below the first heel st to prevent a hole.
With same needle, pick up 15 sts along side of the heel and work across remaining heel sts. [N3: 24 sts total] BOR

Shape Gusset:
Rnd 1: (Dec Rnd)
N1: Work to 3 sts from end. K2tog, k1.
N2: (Instep) Work even.
N3: K1, ssk, work to end.
Rnd 2: Work even.
Repeat Rnds 1 and 2 until there are 56 sts remaining.

Foot:
Continue working in rnds until foot measures 7.56" from base of heel.
Complete sts on N3. BOR

Shape Toe - Classic Standard
Rnd 1:
N1: (Sole) Work to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.
N2: (Instep) K1, ssk, work to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.
N3: (Sole) K1, ssk, complete round.
Rnd 2: Work even.
Repeat Rnds 1 and 2 until 36 total sts remain. [10 rnds]
Work decrease rnd only until 16 sts remain. [8 instep sts, 8 sole sts]

Finishing:
Work sts on N1. Slip sts from N3 to opposite end of N1.
Holding two needles together, graft sts using Kitchener Stitch.
Weave in ends.

Work second sock.

Getting into a creative state of mind

I realized I haven't been "making" much lately- hadn't had much inspiration and I started wondering why.
I looked around and saw that my space wasn't doing anything to help get me in the "zone." Clutter everywhere, especially mail- I knew I had to do something
Let's all channel "if you clean it, it (the inspiration) will come."

Before:

 

 

And after:

Before, there was clutter everywhere, tons of old mail (we're talking 5 years at least), and I couldn't even sit on the couch!

I spent an entire Sunday sorting and getting rid of all the mail, pulling out all the books and DVDs and even stacks of CDs and sorting those, trying to donate as much as I could, and throwing out all the other junk that I don't ever use.  I now have a shelf in the closet for all my paints, spray paints, other little art supplies, a bin for my yarn, and I have more space to spare.

I'm a happy girl 

 

Feeling Inspired

So if you’ve read my “about me” section, you’ve figured out by now that much of my life has always been based around creating “something,” even since I was a kid.  In more recent years, I have realized that I like always having 1 or 2 projects to work on in my free time.  Creating something, big or small, takes me to my happy place.  Lately I’ve been mostly drawn to knitting and crocheting.  This is one of those projects that I thought would be a great modern twist on an old classic- the granny square blanket.

When my niece was born, I wanted to make her a baby blanket and matching hat- so instead of all the little squares sewn together, I made one massive granny square and hat to match.  At the end, it looked like it was missing something, so I crocheted some little rosettes, and added those.

Then came the coordinating hat!

Baby hat pattern (courtesy: Crochet Spot)
Materials: Medium Weight Yarn
Crochet Hook I (5.50 mm)
Gauge: Rounds 1 – 3 in pattern creates a circle that is 3 3/4″ in diameter
Round 1: ch 4, 12 dc in forth ch from hook, sl st in top of beg ch: 12 dc
Round 2: ch 3, 2 dc in each dc around, sl st in top of beg ch-3: 24 dc
Round 3: ch 3, (2 dc in next dc, dc in next dc) around, sl st in top of beg ch-3: 36 dc
Round 4 – 10: ch 3, dc in each dc around, sl st in top of beg ch-3: 36 dc
Finish off.
Directions for the rosettes can be found here