Vitamin D yay! Primo not so yay

I just finished knitting and blocking my Vitamin D cardi. It's lovely. The pattern is fun, and the yarn, the Plucky Knitter's Primo fingering-weight, is a good match for the project.

BUT - this has been yet another instance in which the Primo skeins have come up short. According to my (pretty accurate) scale, 288 grams went into my VitaminD cardi (including all the loose ends that were woven in and snipped off), and a single gram remained, which means a total of 289 grams of yarn in three skeins, NOT the 303 grams listed on Ravelry.

If we were talking a gram or few, I wouldn't gripe. Grumble, yes, but not gripe. But - we're talking a discrepancy of 14 grams over the three skeins, which is pretty significant. And if it weren't the third time I'd run across the light skein issue with the Primo, I wouldn't be so bothered. And yes, for those of you who have asked, I did contact the dyer after the second incident. She did acknowledge my reporting the issue and promise to investigate and get back to me, but I haven't heard back since. I'll do my due diligence and fill her in on the latest, but I'd rather set my expectations low than risk being disappointed by the response.

Sad. Because otherwise, I really love the yarn itself; it feels nice, knits up nicely, and gives a good fabric.

Edited to add: That the talented, wonderful lady behind the lovely Plucky Knitter yarns contacted me to let me know that she and her supplier cleared up any confusion about the yarn mass/yardage issue. Thank you so very much, Sarah - you clearly care a great deal about your craft and your "fans."

P.S. More lessons

Additional lesson #1: I don't like starting off the week feeling as if I'm already behind - and exhausted to boot.

Additional lesson #2: I love my husband, and I want to knit things for him, but man! Knitting a man-sized sweater takes a lot more time, effort, and yarn than does knitting a me-sized sweater! Therefore, methinks G will get a new handknitted sweater at best every two to three years :oP

A family-centric birthday + lessons learned

Reverse order; let's start with the lessons learned.

During the six months of the knit-down-along, which officially ended with the month of April, I have (re)learned...
...that I can't help myself - I am a compulsive stasher, and
...that if it isn't yarn, it's likely to be something else.
...that I am generally easily enabled, but
...that my ability to resist temptation might be stronger than I had realized.
...that I am a very competitive person, and
...that knitting as part of a competitive endeavor - no matter how friendly - is not exactly pleasurable knitting; "I have to do it" knitting is more chore than fun.
...that the self-congratulatory feeling of proud accomplishment at having knitted out so many yards is temporary and fleeting,
...that I only really enjoyed the first 2/3 to 3/4 of the knitting, and
...that ultimately, I am left with a sadly-depleted stash.

Overall, I just feel great relief that the knit-down is OVER! I am now free to put my disposable income where it belongs - in my yarn stash *wink* In all seriousness, I like knowing that I have the option of (mostly) guilt-free stash enhancement, now that the KDAL is over. But I also am aware that I don't have to have every skein of yarn that catches my eye, and that I am indeed capable of resisting temptation.

As for my birthday... What a great birthday weekend so far! I got to spend Friday evening with my beloved family, first going to a concert at the Kennedy Center with my parents, sister, and husband (National Symphony Orchestra + Sarah Chang, violinist), and then indulging in a late-night supper in the lounge at Eventide. In pictures...

Experiments with whole wheat flour

Ever since I discovered G's willingness to eat breakfast if breakfast comprises a banana, the B household has rarely been without very, very ripe bananas. Accordingly, I make banana-chocolate chip muffins every couple of weeks, mashing up the ugly, brown-spotted, sometimes completely-brown bananas.

Today, I decided to swap in whole-wheat flour for some of the all-purpose flour I've been using. Instead of the usual 1 3/4 cup of AP, I used 1 C of AP and 3/4 C of WW. In about 18 minutes, we'll see how my experiment has worked out.

In other food news, I've discovered the perfect low-sodium lunch meat (Boar's Head Deluxe Roast Beef, which according to the website contains a mere 80mg of sodium per serving, and still manages to taste good), and the perfect homemade tomato soup recipe (it's from Cooks Illustrated's, shocker - Ultimate Cream of Tomato Tomato Soup).

Earlier in the week, I used my mom's bulgogi marinade recipe to concoct bulgogi burgers. The resulting burgers were pretty good, but I think I'll cut back on the salty (soy sauce, fish sauce) and sweet (sugar, honey) a bit.

KNIT down along

As a compulsive yarn-purchaser and -stasher participating in a knit down along, or KDAL, I'm in withdrawal, close to getting the shakes *wink*

However, I am also ridiculously proud of myself, because thanks to this competition, I have experienced the most knitting-productive few months of my knitting life. I've managed to knit many, many thousands of yards in various types of projects - including a sweater (close to finishing a second and working on a third), several lace shawls (including two enormous ones), and various smaller projects. Though I have given away some yarn, as is allowed under the official rules, the vast majority, lion's share of my yardage-out comes from knitted objects. And I'm proud of myself for that accomplishment. Whether I win this competition or not - I'm proud of the way I've played the game.

If life hands you overripe bananas...

...make banana bread. Or in my case, chocolate chip banana muffins.

I'm not a huge fan of bananas. The odd starchy, powdery mouthfeel has always thrown me off a bit. However, I've started (somewhat reluctantly) buying bananas lately, ever since I fell for some especially pretty, smallish, just-barely-ripe ones at my local grocery store and brought them home, to my husband's great appreciation. G rarely eats breakfast, so if having bananas on hand makes him eat something in the morning, I'm all for keeping 'em in stock here at Chez B.

Well, last week, I was a little overzealous and bought a few too many bananas, which of course, became more and more yellow, then developed the odd spot here and there, and finally became... Disgustingly overripe. Now, I am my father's daughter, and I hate to see anything - especially food - go to waste, so I came up with the idea that I could mash them up, and use them to sweeten a quickbread of some sort. I'm not a big fan of bananas, but I am fond of chocolate, so - chocolate chip banana it was.

Yesterday, during a burst of housework productivity, I took those yucky, too-soft, too-sweet bananas and turned them into... Some truly yummy muffins. Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins Recipe

• 1¾ C unsifted flour
• ¾ C granulated sugar
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips (I like Ghirardelli’s 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips)
• 1 C mashed overripe bananas
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 C buttermilk
• ½ C vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare muffin pan with paper liners.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into large bowl. Stir in chocolate chips.

In a separate bowl, combine mashed bananas, eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into flour ingredients and stir until combined.

Divide batter among muffin cups and bake for 20-22 minutes or until deeply golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

A very good Monday

1. G was home at a normal time - 6pm, it's positively early!
2. We got to go to a wine tasting. AND it was free. AND we got to try a new, rather uncommon wine that's been on our radar for a few weeks, Txakoli from the Basque region of Spain. (Of course, we walked away with a bottle. Or two ;o)
3. I tried my hand at making French fries at home (using the America's Test Kitchen cold oil method), as part whatever of G's birthday gift (the man loves his fries), with great success, along with my favorite chickpea-sprouts-carrots-tomato-watercress vegan sandwich. I will be making another batch of fries tomorrow, before G's self-imposed no-fries-during-Lent period kicks in. Hey, we can't let all that peanut oil go to waste!

G's bath towel "aha" moment

Usually, I am the one that changes the bath towels when laundry day rolls around, so I like to fold clean, fresh-out-of-the-dryer towels in such a way that I can easily hang them on the towel rods. G has always teased me for this. Until... The day he switched out the towels and emerged from the bathroom saying, "Honey, I get it now. The towels are so much easier to hang when they're folded this way!" Thank you, husband dear, for recognizing that there is a method to my madness.

Washing FOs...

...really makes my wedding ring shiny and clean! :o)

Cornbread Muffins

On a rare Monday off, I've decided to make a chili-and-cornbread meal. Here's my recipe for cornbread muffins.

Cornbread Muffins
(makes 1 dozen muffins)

1 C cornmeal
1 C milk
1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C white sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/3 C olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Place cupcake liners in muffin pan.
2. Lightly whisk cornmeal and milk together; let stand 10 minutes.
3. Combine dry ingredients.
4. Mix in egg and olive oil.
5. Add cornmeal mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.
6. Evenly distribute batter in muffin tin.
7. Bake about 15 minutes at 400 F until light golden. Toothpick inserted in center should emerge with just a few fine crumbs clinging to it.

Last homecooked meal of the week...

... leek & goat cheese quiche, and silky butternut squash soup.

As for the rest of the weekend - we're eating all the leftovers in the fridge ;o)

Spicy-smoky slow-cooker turkey chili

We haven't been particularly healthy in our eating habits for the past week or so, but we started off the new year pretty well. The same week that I made turkey burgers, I used the rest of the ground turkey in the fridge to make a spicy-smoky turkey chili in the slow-cooker. I adapted a non-slow-cooker recipe to get the following:

Spicy-Smoky Slow-Cooker Turkey Chili

(Makes 4 really big servings)

·         2 Tbsp olive oil

·         1 onion, chopped

·         5 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

·         1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

·         1 habanero peper, seeded and chopped

·         2 lb ground turkey

·         2 Tbsp chili powder

·         2 tsp chipotle red pepper flakes

·         1 Tbsp smoked Spanish paprika

·         1 Tbsp ground cumin

·         2 tsp dried oregano

·         1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

·         1 (1oz) envelope instant hot chocolate mix

·         1 tsp kosher salt

·         1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

·         1 tsp liquid smoke

·         1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes with green chili peppers, drained

·         1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes with japaneo peppers, drained

·         1 (8oz) can low-sodium tomato sauce

·         1 (15oz) can black beans, drained

·         ½ C “normal” beer (like an amber)

·         ½ C frozen shoepeg corn

·         1 Tbsp hot pepper sauce

1.       Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and peppers, and cook, stirring, until the onion becomes translucent. Remove to a bowl.

2.       Add ground turkey, then cover and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is no longer pink. Add the cooked vegetables and combine.

3.       Add chili powder, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, black pepper, hot cocoa mix, and salt; stir.

4.       Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans. Add the beer and frozen corn, and combine.

5.       Move mixture to slow cooker, cover, and set on low for 6-8 hours.

6.       Stir in hot pepper sauce, if desired, cover and let sit for a few minutes, then serve. Feel free to garnish with any or all of the following: diced fresh tomatoes, sour cream, shredded cheese, sliced jalapenos, etc.

A loaf of bread and a batch of cinnamon rolls... from scratch

We had our first major brush with winter weather this week - a typical DC mix of snow, ice, and rain, creating a big, ugly, slushy, frozen mess. The kiddos were, of course, very thrilled to have three full days off from school. In honor of snow day #1, I decided to make some bread from scratch, entirely by hand, foregoing the bread machine and even the Kitchenaid.


I adapted a couple of recipes from my files to make a big, beautiful loaf of white sandwich bread and a cake pan full of yummy cinnamon rolls. One batch of bread dough will yield either two loaves of bread, two 9" cake pans of cinnamon rolls, or one of each.

White Bread and/or Cinnamon Rolls

(Makes two loaves, 18 cinnamon rolls, or one loaf and 9 cinnamon rolls)

·         2 C warm water (110 degrees F)

·         1/3 C white sugar

·         1½ Tbsp active dry yeast

·         1½ tsp salt

·         ¼ C extra-virgin olive oil

·         5 C bread flour

Cinnamon Roll Filling

·         1/3 C dark brown sugar

·         1/3 C white sugar

·         2 tsp cinnamon

·         1/8 tsp salt

·         < 1/8 tsp ground cloves

·         2+ Tbsp melted butter

1.       In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in the warm water, then stir in the yeast. Allow to proof until a creamy foam develops – about 30 minutes or so – the longer the yeast is allowed to proof, the lighter & foamier it gets, the lighter the texture of the bread will be.

2.       Mix salt and olive oil into the yeast, then mix in the flour, one cup at a time. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.

3.       Place dough in a well-oiled bowl, and turn to coat evenly. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. (I set the oven to “warm” and set the bowl on top of the stove to aid the rising process.)

4.       Punch dough down, knead for a few minutes, and divide in half.

5.       At this point, you may

a.        shape each half into a loaf and place into well-oiled 9”x5” loaf pans. OR

b.       roll out each half into an approximately 12”x9” rectangle, with the long side facing you. For each rectangle: Brush with melted butter, sprinkle evenly with half the cinnamon roll filling, then roll tightly, pinching the seam to seal it. Using a serrated knife, slice into approximately 1 ½” slices. Gently pat into shape, and place into 9” cake pan brushed generously with melted butter. OR

c.        make one loaf and one pan of cinnamon rolls, as described above.

6.       Allow to rise for 30 minutes or so, until dough has risen to 1” above loaf pan or to top of cake pan.

7.       If baking bread: Bake in preheated 350 F oven for approximately 30 minutes, until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. If baking cinnamon rolls: Cover cake pan with aluminum foil, bake in preheated 350 F oven for about 12 minutes, remove foil, and bake an additional 12-18 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Juicy turkey burgers

 In the "eat healthy, be healthy" spirit of the new year, I opted to make turkey burgers rather than beef burgers for my very first home-cooked meal of 2011. It turned out quite well; G pronounced it to be the best turkey burgers he's ever eaten. I'm not sure how often he's chosen turkey burgers over the regular kind, but I'll take that as the compliment it was meant to be.

I started with the Cook's Illustrated recipe for Quicker Turkey Burgers, which calls for store-bought lean ground turkey combined with a bit of ricotta for moisture, and modified it to add a little more flavor. Here's my version:

Jieun's smoky-spicy turkey burgers
Serves 2.

1/2 lb 93% lean ground turkey
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 C ricotta cheese
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (I used smoky dried chipotle pepper flakes)

Combine all ingredients and divide into two portions. Lightly toss mixture from one hand to the other to form a ball, then lightly flatten into a 1-inch-thick patty.

Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat until very hot, 3-4 minutes. Swirl about 1 Tbsp vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the skillet.

Add turkey burger patties and cook, without moving, until bottom side is dark brown and crusted, 3-4 minutes. Flip over and cook the other side for an additional 3-4 minutes, until lightly browned but not yet crusted. Reduce heat to low, position cover over the pan, slightly ajar to allow steam to escape, and continue to cook an additional 8-10 minutes, flipping burger patties occasionally to promote even, deep browning. Cook until thermometer inserted into the center of the patty through the side registers 160 degrees.

Serve with toppings of choice. (I served with redleaf lettuce, tomato, red onion, cilantro, jalapenos, and avocado.)