New Hats…

On Tuesday I shared this picture of a project that was on my hook at around 8pm just before I wrote the post: beginnings of a hatIt was my first “real” pattern and I was wondering how it would turn out though I was really liking the results… I put Wilhelmina to bed and went back to it and did another two rounds and realized that the pattern was not going to work out for me because even the smallest size was too large for my little head (hats rarely fit me because of that) so I took a deep breath and unraveled it down to about the 3rd round and started again from there. I deviated from the pattern after that for a few rounds to keep the size from getting bigger by adding a few decreases and then got back on track and adjusted the rest of the pattern logically because the stitches no longer matched and it was much easier than I would have guessed. By 11:00 I was done. I did it! I made my first hat, and not only that, I made a hat that actually fits me well (I think!)

My new HatMy new Hat!

Then, today, as Willa napped on me, I whipped up another hat in her size from a different, but similar pattern. All in her nap which was about 1 1/2 hours. We all have small heads here so I might pass this one to one of the boys and make her another a bit smaller but I love the look!

Willa's new hatWilla's Hat

Busy, busy, busy…

I have been loving this crocheting thing.

Seriously… why wasn’t I doing this before?!

Here are the squares that I have been working on that will I will sew together to make a blanket… I have 10 out of 30 done and ran out of yarn in this colour so I need to find another skein and I might make 15 of those in a green yarn that I already have. These are so easy to do and very repetitive so I do them to fill in gaps or when I want to work on something without really thinking about what I am doing…

Here is a crown I made for Wilhelmina with yarn that she had chosen. It isn’t as lopsided as it looks and was a very quick project to make.

here is a better picture of it… though Willa was not wanting to look at the camera…

Here is a head band I made for myself. It has many mistakes if you look up close but it was a great way to learn how increase and decrease and once it is on it looks quite nice and the mistakes are not too apparent. I can’t believe how little time it took to make!

This is one project that I started to work on and I am taking a break from at the moment… it is a scarf that is knit and has two crocheted panels… (I just realized I took a picture of the back of the project… oops!) I have the 6 flowers done which make the two crocheted flower panels and have knit 2 of 3 panels that make up the rest of the scarf. I just have to cast on the middle (and longest) piece and start working on it again. honestly though, I am loving crocheting much more than I like to knit at the moment but I will do it soon.

Finally, this is what is on my hook at the moment… It’s about half way done and is looking great.. I can’t wait to see how it will look once finished!

 

Vanilla Bean Scones

This is a variation of the simple scone recipe that I recently shared.

I wanted to make scones one weekend morning I wondered how I could make everyone happy since not everyone has the same likes, so I came up with these…

 (Vanilla bean scones with a simple vanilla icing)

I used the same simple base that I used in my other scones with a few small changes.

(makes 12)

Ingredients:

  • 400g flour, plus more for handling the dough
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 5 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup cold or frozen butter
  • 280g-300g milk (I used coconut almond milk)
  • 1 Vanilla bean, split and scraped

For the Icing:

  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp butter (room temp)
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla (I make my own)
  • milk
(Vanilla bean)
vanilla goodness

Directions:

  •  Preheat oven to 425° F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

With a food processor:

  • First pulse the flour, baking powder, sugar (if using) and the salt a few times until well mixed.
  • Cut the cold butter into small cubes and add them to the dry ingredients and pulse four or five times until the butter is mixed in and the largest pieces you can see resemble small peas.
  • Mix the scraped seeds of the vanilla bean into the milk and stir so that it there are no clumps of vanilla and then slowly add the cold milk to the dry/butter mixture and pulse again just until the dough comes together. There should be no longer spots of flour and the dough should not be too wet.

By hand:

  • In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar (if using) and the salt.
  • Get your cheese grater out and grate the butter into the flour and just mix. You could also go the longer way and cut the cold butter into small cubes use a pastry cutter or two forks as you would with pie dough. The important thing is to not handle the dough too much and to not smoosh the butter into the flour too much.
  • Mix the scraped seeds of the vanilla bean into the milk and stir so that it there are no clumps of vanilla, Add the milk and stir in quickly just until the dough comes together and doesn’t show big spots of dry flour anymore.

Dump onto a well floured surface, sprinkle with flour and knead just 2-3 times if needed. If the dough looks good already, just pat it out on the floured surface. Over-kneading the dough will make the texture tough and they will not rise right, so you want to be very gentle with the dough!

When you pat the dough out you want it to be about 3cm thick (about an inch) and then using a round cookie/biscuit cutter, or a glass or any other round object, cut out the scones. Make sure you don’t twist your cutter but use a simple up/down motion. Twisting the cutter will fuse the sides a bit and they may not rise.

Place the scones on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 13-15 min until the are golden in colour. Let them cool a bit.

While the Scones are baking, you can make the Icing.

Place the powdered sugar in a bowl and add the tsp of butter and mix the butter in with a fork until there are no clumps of butter left, add the tsp of vanilla and mix well. Slowly add the milk about 1/2 tsp at a time and mix until smooth. I don’t give a quantity of milk because it depends on how thin you want it but however you want it takes a very small amount of milk.

Spoon the icing over the scones and serve.

 

Vanilla scones with Vanilla icing

Meal plan for the Week

This week is not exactly the same as most weeks so our meal plan is a bit off.

What is different about this week? Khéna is turning 6! Can you believe it?!

I usually do my grocery shopping on Saturday, but I was out yesterday so there is one meal less because of that. We are also going out for Khéna’s birthday so we will be eating out that day and Simon will be home on Friday so I haven’t planned a meal for then either.

So the plan for the week is pretty simple:

  • Submarine sandwiches (beef strips, pepperoni, mozzarella, grilled onions and mushrooms, lettuce and Italian style  dressing)
  • Perogies and Salad
  • Stuffed Buns
  • Meat and Sweet Potato Pie
  • Roasted Veggies, Salad and Garlic Bread
Some Ideas for breakfast and lunch: Oatmeal Smoothie, Toast, English Muffin with Eggs, Family Apple Pancake, Yogourt with Granola, Leftovers etc…
I will also be making bread for the week and then Baba Ganoush, Pizza dough, Black Magic Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream icing and a few other things for Khéna’s party.

 

November 24th

It is late and I just arrived home after a long day. If it wasn’t for NaBloPoMo I would not be here writing on the blog tonight.

I left this morning early, did a bit of shopping and then headed to Melons et Clementines to give my two workshops on EC and Babywearing. I had a great turnout and met some really nice people and the afternoon went by in a flash. I then headed out to meet up with a friend to go out to supper.

As I left the workshop it was getting dark and it was snowing and as I turned onto Sainte-Catherine street (the main street in Montreal) there was just something magical about it. The snow falling, people walking and laughing in the street… It just felt like the city was alive and I felt the need to roll down my window and just soak it all in.

I met up with my friend at this amazing little place called “Le Milieu” which is a space that is made for people to be creative. A small café in the back, couch and comfy place to sit in the front and tables and chairs that you can sit around with art supplies lining the walls. It is a space that has been made for people to get together and be creative. To learn from others, to do things on their own, to talk and crochet or knit or paint or create jewelry or sew etc. It is such a warm and inviting space and would be somewhere I would love to hang out on a regular basis if I was closer. I am even giving a workshop there next month!

My friend and I headed out for supper at “Le Nil Bleu”, a great Ethiopian restaurant on St-Denis Street, and we sat and chatted about unschooling and life over amazing food and then continued our conversation over cappuccinos at a small café not far away. It felt good to be out, it felt great to talk and share, and it was just a great day altogether.

It was also a bit bittersweet. As much as there are times that I say I would never want to live in Montreal again, that I want to leave the province,  there are times that is just feels like home and today, it was one of those days and I know that I will miss it when we are gone.

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