Crafted-It-Forward

Many, many (many) moons ago, I posted about participating in a Craft-It-Forward, in which one person sent me a homemade gift, and in exchange, I would pass on homemade gifts to 5 other people.

Rebekah kicked it off and sent me an amazing lemonade sugar scrub.  I LOVE the scent of lemon, so I really, really enjoyed the scrub.  I’ve been meaning to make some of my own!

I also saw that Amy was participating, so we agreed to send each other something as well.  Amy sent along ridiculously amazingly delicious Oregon Blackberry Jam (so good, I forwent the scone and just at the jam out of the jar with a spoon) and some yummy vanilla shortbread.

For my outgoing crafty gifts, I decided to make scarves.  Since it was supposed to be a surprise, I just asked each person their favorite colors, and tried to pick something out of my stash that matched.  I hope everyone has been enjoying their scarves, especially in this extra cold and snowy winter!

Rina over at Gotta Little Space wasn’t picky and listed a variety of colors, so off went a cozy blue, purple, and black variegated scarf in her direction.

Geeka said she liked green, so I abided to her wishes, even though I was super tempted to make her a black and gold STEELERS themed scarf!

Profgrrrrl likes eggplantish-purple and sage green, and since she lives in a warmer-weather climate, I tried to do a more open, lacier scarf which wouldn’t be quite so heavy as the others I made.

Lucy Pigpuppet  said she liked rainbow stripes or anything “bright and happy-looking.”  I had the perfect yarn in mind as soon as I read that!

Amy said she was on a yellow kick, but unfortunately, I had no suitable yellow yarn in my stash.  I gave her a list of colors to chose from (which I admit, must be tricky when you have no idea what you are receiving!) and she picked a pumpkin orange.  

And, lastly, Jenna finally received her scarf last week!  A girl after my own heart, Jenna said her favorite colors were black and white (not that I don’t enjoy colors, but I can’t think of any color combination classier and more timeless than black and white!).  Jenna even posted a picture on her own blog of her sporting the new scarf!  I hope it keeps her (and her adorable baby bump) toasty warm throughout the cold streak in Dallas! 

Thanks for your patience and waiting so long, and I hope you enjoyed participating as much as I did in the Craft-It-Forward!

(If anyone is interested in pattern information, all the details are on my Ravelry page.  And if you’re on Ravelry, friend me so I can see what you are working on, too!)

Asparagus and Walnut Pasta

One of the advantages to long-distance marriage is that I’ve been working my way through the massive list of recipe ideas which include ingredients I love, but Husband hates. This was an excellent candidate, as asparagus is my favorite vegetable and Husband refuses to eat it… and walnut are my favorite nuts, whie Husband is not a nut fan in general (unless they are in the form of peanut butter). Unfortunately for Husband, I think I liked this enough that it’s going to stay in the rotation even when we are living together again – good thing he knows how to make peanut butter and jelly!

Asparagus and Walnut Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 pound whole wheat rigatoni
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 pound asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup grated Asiago cheese
• 1/3 cup lightly toasted walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain well.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add asparagus and cook for 1 minute. Add green onions and garlic and cook 3 to 4 minutes more.
3. Add cooked pasta to skillet, then stir in cheese and walnuts.

Nanaimo Bars – Daring Bakers

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

I couldn’t think of a more appropriate dessert to make right now, considering the Olympics are just around the corner.  For those of you who are not familiar with Nanaimo Bars, they hail from Nanaimo, British Columbia, and are more or less the official dessert of BC.  Seriously, they are everywhere.

That said, I already knew off the bat that I have an extremely strong dislike for Nanaimo bars.  I really enjoyed this challenge, however, because it allowed me to pinpoint exactly why I detest them so much.  The middle layer is always described as a “custard”… which I think of as kind of a thick pastry cream or pudding.  I like custard.  I do not, however, like the “custard” layer AT ALL.  Now that I’ve made it, I realize that it’s hardly a custard, but more of a glorified buttercream… and I loathe frosting.  Seriously, hate it.  That nauseatingly sweet, tooth-dissolving flavor and texture is a HUGE turn off for me.  But please, don’t let MY dislike of Nanaimo Bars turn you off.  A simple test – if you savor the frosting on your cupcake and save it to the very end, make these – fast!  If, like me, you try to wipe off every last drop and still wind up throwing out half of the cake because it is too “tainted” with frosting…. well, just make these for your Olympic opening ceremonies party, but pass on trying one out yourself. :)

The first part of the challenge was to make homemade graham crackers.  I opted to pass on the gluten free version, not because I am opposed to gluten free baking, but I am making an extreme effort to cut down on groceries, and by making these with regular all-purpose flour, I already had all the ingredients on hand.  I rolled out my dough on the thicker side, and LOVED the results.  Instead of crunchy like a normal graham cracker, it had the exact same flavor, but was soft, similar to the difference between a gingerbread cookie and actual gingerbread.  I liked these so much that I’m not sure if I’ll ever buy another packaged thin crispy graham cracker again!

 

Graham Crackers

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 7 tablespoons butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/3 cup honey
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Add the cubed butter and cut in until the mixture forms a coarse meal.
2. Whisk together honey, milk, and vanilla.  Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together.
3. Turn the dough onto plastic wrap and chill until firm, 2 hours or overnight.
4. Sift a layer of flour on the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle (depending on the size of your work surface, you may want to divide into two balls of dough), about 1/8 inch thick (mine were 1/4 inch think).  Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares.  Move to parchment-lined baking sheets and prick surface with a fork.
5. Bake for 12 minutes at 350F, or until golden brown in color.

 

Nanaimo Bars

Ingredients:

• For Bottom Layer:
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/2 cup almonds, finely chopped
  • 1 cup shredded coconut
• For Middle Layer:
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla custard powder or vanilla pudding mix
  • 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• For Top Layer:
  • 4 ounce semi-sweet chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Melt unsalted butter, sugar, and cocoa in the top of a double boiler.  Add egg and stir to cook and thicken.  Remove from heat.  Stir in graham cracker crumbs, nuts, and coconut.  Press firmly into an ungreased 8x8 inch pan.
2. Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and confectioner’s sugar together.  Beat until light in color.  Spread over bottom layer.
3. Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat.  Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

Competition Results

So… long story short… I did not win the camera bag.  But, honestly, I can’t really sit around feeling sorry for myself when I had such a HUGE outpouring of support from a whole bunch of people I don’t even “know”!  Numerous individuals re-tweeted my message, asking their friends to vote for me as well.  Several of you posted on your own blogs asking your readers to vote for me.  Geeka even made all her lab minions vote for me throughout the day – and who doesn’t love a little abuse of power?!  Really, you all are amazing!

I initially offered up a hand-knit scarf and batch of cookies to four individuals if I won.  I can’t, however, just let this go without showing my appreciate.  Instead, I’ve decided to randomly select 5 individuals… and send you either a scarf or cookies (your choice).  I went ahead and entered all the names and number of times you said you voted into a big old spreadsheet (and those of you who submitted numerous votes without entering just to vote out of the goodness of your hearts – super big thanks to you too!!), and went on over to random.org and let it chose the numbers.

These numbers correspond to…

Josie
The History Enthusiast
Psych Post Doc
Costing Anon
thesciencegirl

If that’s you, send me an email (link is on the menu bar under ‘contact’), let me know if you’d like either a scarf or cookies, and I’ll be in touch to get the details!

Winners have until January 31st to claim their prize; otherwise, I’ll re-draw a new name.

Big hugs to everyone who voted!

BIG, HUGE Favor!

Remember just a few weeks ago when I posted about the new camera bag for which I was lusting? I mean, seriously, seriously drooling? But cannot purchase for myself because Husband is desperate to pay off his mega-medical school debt ASAP?

Well, I’ve entered to win one. And I need your help.

See, here’s the thing. There are a ton of entries. Literally, hundreds. Two winners, who acquire the most votes, will receive a brand new gorgeous camera bag. My poor Canon, carelessly shoved into tote bags, overnight bags, and carry on suitcases, is quivering in delight at the thought of a proper home.

There’s a lot of people trying to win this bag, so this is where I shamelessly beg for your vote.

To vote, go here, scroll down to the first poll, and vote for me -- #95. (You can detour and read my resolution first if you so desire… I think it’s a good one!). And, per the rules, you can vote as many times as you want. Which means after you vote, you just click on “Return to Poll” and click on 95 again, if you so desire. You can vote as many times as you want between right now and noon (CST) Friday, January 8th.

I wish I could offer some amazing reward for voting for me, like a hefty gift card to Banana Republic. Since the reason I am trying to win the bag is because I cannot afford to purchase the bag… that would be rather contradictory. But what I can do is make things… specifically, warm cozy knitted things and tasty baked goods things. So, if you vote for me, comment on this post for each time you vote (honor system) and if I win, I will randomly choose 4 individuals and make you a custom scarf and a batch of cookies. Vote for me 30 times, have 30 chances to win. Of course, if you simultaneously happen to be a knitter and have an overload of scarves AND are anti-cookies, you can just vote out of the goodness of your heart without having to enter. (And, even if I don’t win, I am sure I will randomly select a few individuals to thank you anyway!).

Thank you, thank you, thank you, from your favorite poor disgruntled graduate student.

(Note: Due to shipping costs, I will send a scarf anywhere in the world, but only those in the continental US will receive cookies.)