Bruschetta for one

My basil, shockingly, has been growing well. Between the sickening heat and my typical black thumb I'm really shocked I'm still talking about it in June. I did think I was going to lose the plant in late May when we had a couple of 110 degree days. But a good watering and they sprang back to life. I totally recommend basil for newbie gardeners.

This, however, has left me with the problem of what to do with it. I went for the obvious recipe the first time picked some leaves and made pesto. This time I went for another obvious recipe and decided to make bruschetta. The only problem is I'm the only one in the family who likes tomatoes. Many recipes serve 4-8 people so I decided to wing it and come up with my own. The great thing about bruschetta is the flexibility of the recipe. Like basil? Add extra. A big garlic fan? Throw in an extra clove. Here's my version:

Serves 1 (or 2)

• 1 ripe tomato
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
• Squirt of lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Serve over toasted bread.

 

Linked to i heart Naptime and It's Overflowing

 

Another Mystery KAL

Last year I joined a mystery knit-a-long as part of the Knitted Toys group on Ravelry. It was my first KAL. I had a lot of fun (even if the monkey I made looks like it is trying to kiss someone!) so I joined the one they are having his year.

The first clue was released Monday but I haven't made much progress on it yet. Hopefully I have time for clue 1 this weekend before clue 2 comes out next week.

Unfortunately this means the socks are hibernating. I think with the exception of 2 pairs of straight 6s, I only have one pair of each size of needles. I'm sure as I get more practice, I'll end up with more needles. But for now the socks must wait!

For more Wednesday Works in progress, check out Tami's Amis.

 

FO Friday

It's Friday and it's time for a finished object. This week I finished up the lion I was working on. What a quick knit! It took me less than two weeks and that's pretty fast for me since I don't have a lot of time to devote to knitting.

There were parts of it that were a bit challenging. Originally when I sewed on the mane it looked less like a mane and more like a clown's collar. I was much happier when I redid it. This was also my first experience with short rows too. They weren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be. Plus I got to check something off my 2012 Resolutions list!

I gave this to a coworker for her daughter and she totally loved it!

For more finished objects check out Tami's Amis!

 

WIP Wednesday

This week I started on a new knitting project - a knitted lion. I probably should move on to something besides stuffed animals but I just love creating them. This is for a coworker; when I gave away the hippo, bear and lion to my other coworkers she expressed how cute they were and I know she would love a lion for her daughter.

The pattern is the Little Lion Sock Critter on Size 5 needles with Simply Soft yarn. It's been a quick knit so far - I have the entire body done and the arms ready to attach. I'm currently on the ears and am hoping to have it finished over the long weekend.

It's also been great for me because I've had to try a few new things. This pattern involves purling through the back loop and short rows, neither of which I had done before. In fact I think the short rows are great practice for when I get to the heel of the socks I'm working on. (Okay working on may be a slight exaggeration as they have mostly been sitting untouched for the last few weeks. I've promised myself to make some progress on them when I finish this project.)

For more projects check out Tami's Amis!

 

I'm blessed

It's been too long since I've joined up with the Blessing Party at He Sows and She Sews, but this week I'm just overflowing! Here are the many ways I've been blessed this week:

• I celebrated a very lovely Mother's Day with my kids. Since we had to go over to my mom's and MIL's houses on Sunday the boys took me to dinner on Saturday. They also gave me books, including a candy making book (that I've already put to use!). As an added bonus they behaved well on Sunday, which is some times challenging when we go from house to house.
• C finished up preschool this week. I can't believe I am not the mother of a kindergartener - the time has totally flown. I have been blessed with an intelligent, compassionate five year old.

This is a totally blurry pic but it's C holding the flag and leading the kids in the pledge at their program.

• It was my birthday this past week. I was fortunate enough to be able to take some time off of work too. I had a wonderful day and I'm so glad God has blessed me with another year.
  

I had the chance to paint some pottery on my birthday - it's a tradition I've had for the last five years or so.

• And maybe a little more minor, but tonight after playing blocks with J he picked them up without being asked. Yay!
  

Check out the I'm Blessed party here! 

FO Friday - A Bear and a Hippo

So that bear I mentioned a few weeks ago, the one that I optimistically thought I had two months to finish...turns out I had significantly less time than I thought to finish it. The baby shower ended up being scheduled for today and I still had to do a third stuffed animal too. So I knitted pretty much nonstop during my free time over the last couple of weeks (hence the lack of updates lately.)

The good news is I managed to finish! Here is Brown Bear.

The pattern is baby bear from Susan Anderson's Itty Bitty Toys book.

For the third stuffed animal I ended up doing a hippo to go with The Belly Button Book. This pattern is also from the same book - can I just say how much I love this book!

 

I think these will be a hit with the moms to be. Here is a pic of all three stuffed animals.

 

For more finished object Friday fun check out Tami's Amis!

 

Basil Pesto

My basil plant has been absolutely flourishing, to the point where I finally had to pick some of it. Oh my goodness, it was so fragrant as I was picking it! Check out how much I was able to pick.

I knew from the moment I planted it the first thing I was going to make was pesto. I'm a big pesto fan! I've never made from scratch but it was so easy.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of basil, pressed down
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of pine nuts
• 1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
• Dash of salt
• Squirt of lemon juice (this is not for flavor, rather to keep the basil from turning brown)
  

Throw everything in a blender (I used my Magic Bullet) and blend until everything in chopped and it turns into a paste. Then enjoy! I spread mine on a few slices of fresh mozzarella - it was delicious. 

 

I'm linking up to Sundae Scoop today!