Poor Francie (ravelry) has been hanging around the knitting basket since … June!  Yikes, that’s just sick and wrong.  I love the pattern and the yarn is good (kinda splitty, but more on that later).  I finished the first sock in record time and got right to work on the second.  I knit through the leg and then abandoned the poor thing for reasons that have long since faded from my memory.  I took the sock with me when I flew to Vegas last weekend because … it’s a sock and I was travelling.  I know you understand.  Due to some lovely weather delays (someone needs to tell the people in Las Vegas that a 25 mph wind does not constitute a valid reason for high wind delays - 50 mph, maybe), I got some quality time with Francie and made some progress.  The worst thing about stopping in the middle of a project is figuring out exactly where you were when you stopped.  Luckily I was still working on the heel flap, which makes for easy counting and place finding.  I felt so good about my progress and that I was working on one of the projects that has been in my WIP basket for months, that I’ve been knitting on Francie every day.

I finished the gusset and have started the arch shaping, which I believe I mentioned before is fabulous!  My goal is to finish this sock this weekend so I can start a new project (ravelry).  I was surfing around yesterday on So Much Yarn, So Little Time and saw this and then this.  It was love at first sight.  I had to go to the yarn store last night and buy yarn - that’s how excited I am.  I’m trying to keep myself motivated to finish the lingering projects by alternating between something in my WIP basket and something new.  The socks were old, the hat is new.  See how that works?  Also on the to-knit list is a much needed yoga bag (ravelry), but the hat is reported to be a pretty quick knit so the yoga bag should be coming soon too.  I’m not sure I’m going to able to wait for the yoga bag (hauling your yoga mat to 6 classes a week without a bag is kind of a huge pain in the you know what) so I might have to do it before I finish the Seeded Cables Cardigan (ravelry), but whatever.

On another note, I’m looking for a good knitting/haul-all-of-my-crap-to-work bag and stumbled on the Swift Knitting Bag.  It’s reported to be very organized and functional, but it’s hard to know from the information online.  Do you have one or know anyone who has one?  What do you think?  Any other suggestions are always appreciated.  Have a wonderful Friday and a great and productive weekend, even if your version of that is laying on the couch with your favorite movie and your knitting.

These are the Legwarmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (ravelry link).  They’ve been on my list since, well, ever, and they seemed like a good mindless knitting project for the holidays.  They are a simple k1, p1 rib in the round.  I used magic loop because on long tubes I think it’s pretty hard to beat the good ol’ magic loop for mindless knitting ease.

And by mindless, I mean 52 inches of ribbing in black Cascade 220 and Kid Seta mohair on size 7 needles.  At one point, about 1/2 of the way through the second legwarmer, we had passed mindless and moved squarely into the mind-numbing portion of the entertainment.  Each legwarmer is 26 inches long, which is really long, but I’m tall and they come up above my knees and down over my shoes.

I debated about how practical legwarmers actually are and if they’re entirely too dorky and retro to wear in public, but when it gets really cold around here (like it is this week - well below zero - brrrr) and I have to wear a skirt, it’s awesome to have some nice wooly legwarmers to pull on and keep my legs warm.  I’ve even worn them under some pants for added warmth.  All in all, a good project, and I’m excited I finished them before summer!

I actually have a finished knitting project (I know, shocking!), but while I’m waiting for pictures, you’ll have to make due with more bread talk.  So, as you know, I made one of the master recipes from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day and the initial loaf turned out great.  This weekend I made a loaf of the Crusty White Sandwich Bread with the same refrigerated dough (and how cool is it that I had the dough hanging out in the fridge!).

The book tells you that the longer you let the dough sit in the fridge, the softer it gets, and so if you have dough that’s been in the fridge a week or so like mine had, you may want to put it in a loaf pan so that it has a bit more structure, which worked out great since I wanted sandwhich bread anyway.  I modified the directions slightly because I wanted a softer crust.  I baked the loaf at 400 rather than 450, didn’t use a steam pan, and brushed the finished loaf with butter to further soften the crust.  I have to tell you, it was fabulous.  The finished loaf was airy with lots of holes and a great french bread taste, but with a softer crust.  There isn’t a bread in the grocery store that comes close!

Oh, and it makes a phenomenal grilled cheese!

Marcia is entirely to blame for this new obsession of mine.  This is a seriously cool book and a really nifty way to make bread.  I’ve expressed my bread obsession before - nothing beats homemade bread, but when you work full time and manage to pack the other hours of the day with a variety of hobbies and obsessions, being able to bake homemade bread in 5 minutes a day of actually working at it is a pretty cool thing!

Last Tuesday night I mixed up some basic dough

I didn’t have time to make bread on Wednesday or Thursday night, and that’s the beauty of this approach.  If you don’t have time, you just leave it in the fridge until you do!  So, Friday night I was ready.  I chopped off a hunk of dough, made a nice little ball of dough, let it sit on the counter for about an hour, and ended up with a cute free-form loaf.

I baked it for about 45 minutes (it took longer in my oven than the recipe said), and ended up with this

This is some seriously good bread.  At the altitude I live at, it’s really hard to get nice holey bread, but this was great.  It was nice and moist on the inside, with a good crust.  I modified the recipe slightly based on the information on the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes website for high altitude baking.  I used bread flour, reduced the yeast to 1 Tbsp, and added an additional 1/4 cup of water.  I think the trick to high altitude baking is trial and error, so my results for 7,200 feet may not be the same as yours.

I had such good luck with the basic artisan loaf that I decided to try the challah recipe for beignets, and again, they were awesome.

So far, I’ve made 2 recipes out of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day and both received 2 thumbs up.  If you like to make bread, I highly recommend this book.  It’s a great way to have fresh bread without spending hours slaving over it.  I don’t think this book replaces more traditional bread making techniques, but it sure is nice to add to the bag of tricks.

‘Tis the season for leftovers.  And I don’t know about you, but I get darned tired of the same thing every night, but there’s all that food in the refrigerator just looking at me, so I feel obligated to eat it.  I mean it’s a sin to waste food isn’t it?  One of my favorite recipes for leftovers is Shepherd’s Pie.  While Shepherd’s Pie was traditionally made with mutton and Cottage Pie was what you called it when you used beef, I can honestly say that I’ve never used mutton in my Shepherd’s Pie.  I do enjoy lamb once in awhile, but never seem to have it as leftovers.  The other night I decided that it was time to finish up the prime rib we had left over from the holidays, and rather than reheat it yet again, I decided to modify a basic Shepherd’s Pie recipe to use the cubed prime rib.  So, here’s my version, but if you decide to make it, remember to use up whatever you have hanging out in the fridge and the freezer.  I really do think that makes for the best dish.

Stephanie’s Shepherd’s Pie

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef or cubed leftover roast (if you’re feeling adventurous, try some lamb) (eyeballing it works too - more or less meat isn’t going to make or break this recipe - use what you have)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1-2 cups vegetables of your choice - I use a 16 oz. bag of frozen corn, carrots, peas, and green beans
• 1 1/2 - 2 pounds potatoes (or leftover boiled or mashed potatoes)
• 8 tbsp butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup beef broth (or as much as you need to make a nice sauce depending on your amounts of meat, veggies, and wine)
• 1/2 cup red wine (more, less, or none - depending on your taste)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Salt
• Pepper
• Herbes de Provence
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice
  

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel and quarter potatoes (I sometimes don’t peel the potatoes, it makes for a bit more of a rustic dish, but I actually really like mashed potatoes with the skins on), boil in salted water until tender.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 tbsp butter in a large frying pan.  Cook onions over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic during last couple of minutes of cooking time.
   
4. If using ground beef, add and cook until no longer pink.  If using leftover meat, add and warm.
   
5. Add vegetables and cook to warm - the whole thing is going to simmer for 10-15 minutes and then bake, so you don’t have to be too concerned if the veggies are still cold.
   
6. Add beef broth, wine, worcestershire, salt, pepper, and herbes de provence to taste (this really does depend on what meat you’re using and what seasonings you already have working for you).  Simmer for 10 minutes and add more broth or wine if needed to keep mixture moist.  If the liquid is too soupy for your taste, or if you got a little carried away with keeping the mixture moist, you can mix a little cornstarch with some water in a jar and add that to thicken the broth right up.
   
7. While meat is simmering, mash potatoes with remaining 4 tbsp butter.  Don’t forget to season the potatoes with salt and pepper.  Add cheese and stir to combine.
8. Place beef and veggie mixture in baking dish - I use a round casserole.  Top with mashed potatoes - make them as smooth or as rough as you like, it’s personal preference.
9. Cook until bubbling and brown - about 30 minutes.  Turn oven to broiler for the last 5 minutes so the potatoes get browned on the high spots.

Serves 6 (or 4 lumberjacks).

If you make this, let me know what you think - even if you hate it!  I tend to dump stuff in when I’m cooking, so my amounts are kinda iffy.  My general rule is, trust your instincts and you’ll be fine.