Knitted Monster knitting

I present to you, the kotamonster:

   The pattern is the-thrifty-critter by Nikol Lohr.  Very cute.  For the knitting needles I used bamboo skewers that I cut in half and put these little jewel-like things that you can stick on something.  For the yarn ball I used a small styrofoam ball and wound some yarn around it.

St Patrick & the knitted monster

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Some people celebrate their Irish heritage by hoisting a glass of Guinness (yum).  Me? I eat.  And knit.

My monster is nearly complete.  All knitted up and just awaiting some eyes. I'm making a stop at Joanne Fabrics this evening after my violin lesson so I can finish him up.  Meanwhile, I'm working on my Cassidy cardigan.  I had the left front nearly finished when I realized a row of cables were crossed on the wrong row. rrrrrip!  I really can't say enough good things about this pattern (ravelry link).

The eating part.  Homemade Irish Soda Bread, Corned Beef, cabbage & champ.
























The corned beef recipe I used is called Kilkenny Corned Beef.  My mother has made it for years, and it's my absolute favorite.



Kilkenny Corned Beef with horseradish sauce
about 3 hours

1 piece corned beef
Boiling Water
1 tablespoon mixed pickling spices (usually packaged in with the corned beef)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup prepared mustard

Preheat oven to 325.  Wash corned beef brisket & place in roasting pan.  Cover with boiling water & add pickling spices.  Cover pan with aluminum foil..  Bake @ 325 for about 2 hours.  When tender, allow to cool in cooking liquid.(This can be done the day before).  About an hour before serving, drain corned beef  from liquid, put in roasting pan & cook @ 325 for 30 min.  Prepare glaze by combining the brown sugar & mustard.  Spread over corned beef & cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Horseradish Sauce 
Prep time about 5 min
Total Time:  2 hours

8 oz container of sour cream
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons horseradish.

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate for a couple of hours to let flavors blend.


And since you know I don't cook without music, here's a list of some of today's favorites:

Carrickfergus - Lisa Kelly
Fiddlers Green - Noel Mcloughlin
Green & Red of Mayo - Saw Doctors
The Wind that Shakes the Barley - Loreena McKennitt
The Blacksmith - Liz Knowles
U2



So, since dinner is ready, let me just end
this post with an Irish toast:


May those who love us, love us.
And those who don't love us,
May God turn their hearts;
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles, 
So we will know them by their limping.

Monsters in the House

I'm working on a knitted monster for an on-line friend that's going through a rough patch right now. I'm not the only one. There's several of us from, from all over. I raided my stash of left overs and was hoping to find some green or blue worsted weight. No such luck. So I'm using some Cascade 220 in an orange-red that I had left over from my Origami Cardi. I usually use dpn's when I knit in the round, but for some reason I kept twisting the yarn. So I tried magic lop for the first time. I'm not totally converted, but wow.

Since I've just joined the ranks of the unemployed, I thought this may be a good time to explore some cooking from other regions and countries. Maybe a new place once a week or so. Kind of like Julie & Julia, with knitting. And without the movie deal at the end.

Since tomorrow is Fat Tuesday, I decided to try my hand at making Gumbo. 'Cuz really, nobody does Fat Tuesday better than New Orleans! So I put on some music to get me in the mood and got to cooking. The aroma is wonderful. I used this recipes from Allrecipes.com. I did cook my roux longer than the recipe suggests, used about 1/2 of the salt and no file powder.

ETA: I'm not sure why Blogger wants my picture on top when I want it under the paragraph that it relates to. I'm tired of arguing with it so I'll leave it there .