Crafty Updates

Free time seems to have a way of disappearing around here. Our ongoing effort to preserve summer's bounty so we can eat locally is still going strong. To the left, you'll find the most expensive ketchup in the world. My recipe was supposed to yield 5-pints of ketchup, but instead, I ended up with 2 1/2. Eh, that's not exactly a year's supply of ketchup, so I'll have to make another trip to the store for more tomatoes.

The ketchup recipe is from the Joy of Cooking. I had to check out the Joy of Cooking: All about Canning and Preserving from our library for this recipe. Why? Because my 1997 JOC edition is lame, that's why! People buy this book not for its ethnic recipes, but for "how tos" on American staples! I thought for sure I would find instructions on jams and jellies in my JOC, and I was confounded when none were present. So, consider this a PSA: do not buy the 1997 edition of JOC because it lacks the soul of the earlier editions. There is tons of info on the Internet about the family drama behind this JOC edition, so I'll spare you, but just know that it is out there if you are curious.

I fondly refer to our canned apple butter as "Look, Ma! No hands!" because I didn't have to lift a finger. The boy made and canned the butter on his own. It is soooooo good! We ended up with many jars, but I don't think we'll be sharing it much because it rocks. Those apples, Fujis, came from my inlaw's backyard - they had a lot of tiny apples that were too small for eating.

There has been a bit of knitting going on in these parts, too. These Lisa Sousa (colorway Olive) socks were my first attempt at knitting 2 socks at one time on 2 circular needles. I love this method! Since I do so many on the fly adjustments to patterns, it's nice knowing that both socks will be the same instead of one being a bit longer/tighter/shorter than the other.


The pattern is my own, but it's nothing really creative. I wanted something mindless to knit, so I made spiraling seed stitches on the top of the foot and through the leg. I can type it out if you're interested, but I'm sure that there are other sock patterns out there with this same motif.

I'm currently working on anklets from sock yarn scraps. This is Schaefer Anne yarn, one of my favorite yarns. The mohair content makes it a little itchy, but boy is this durable!



It's a simple 3x1 ribbed pattern paired with a slip stitch, Widdershin-style heel.

I think I have my perfect sock formula down now! They are knit 2 at a time and toe up using the Turkish cast on. I knit them at 9.5 stitches per inch (usually size 1s) and I increase to 72 inches. The heel is the Widdershin heel with slip 1/knit 1 heel stitch, and the bind off is doulble crochet. Yeah, this is going to be my formula until something better comes along.

Local Flour and Materials for the Breadalong

I'm over the moon at the news that I can now buy flour that is 100% local! This article from SFGate.com has me ready to embrace the crowds at the Ferry Building's Farmer's Market and bring back a 50-lb bag of wheat berries on BART. I need to find a convincing argument for the boy to be my wheat berry mule.

Before, the closest I could come to Bay Area flour is flour that is milled locally at Guisto's in South San Francisco. The wheat berries that they grind do not necessarily come from California, though, but since it was the best option available, that's what I used. But not anymore!

This food mill that attaches to my mixer is on my wish list now.

For those of you interested in the breadalong, it is still going to happen! In preparation, here are the items that you'll need on your bready journey:

1. A glass jar or plastic container and a loose fitting lid (gas has to escape) that will be your starter's home. If you do not plan on making bread every 2-3 days, then this container will also live in your refrigerator. Your starter will double in volume when it is fed, so use a container that can hold at least 6 cups.
2. A spatula or spoon long enough to mix the contents of your container
3. A dry erase pen (optional) for marking your container
4. 5-lb bag of bread flour. Bread flour has more gluten than your average flour, a plus for bread as its name implies, but you can also use all purpose flour. King Arthur unbleached, white flour is a great product that is not too hard on the wallet.
   
5. A teeny, tiny bit of yeast for kick starting your starter. Just a pinch will do.
6. Water. I use unfiltered tap water since it tastes good and that is what we drink around here, but if your water tastes chlorinated or you regularly drink bottled or filtered water, use that for your starter and bread.
7. Some means of measuring your wet and dry ingredients. My favorite method is a baking scale. I use the scale exclusively for measuring out my wet and dry bread ingredients because I know how much the required amounts of water weigh - I'm all about making less dishes to wash!
8. A draft-free place in your abode that is not in direct sunlight and that ranges between 65-80 deg. F.
9. A baking stone (optional)
10. A spray bottle or a pressurized sprayer that is only used for water (optional)
11. A stand mixer, like a KitchenAid or a Bosch (optional)
12. Salt, but not the kind with iodine

If I've forgotten anything, which is very likely, I'll update this post.

Do you have everything you need for the breadalong? Then, mosey on over to Part 2 and Part 3!