the garden 2011

we moved in january and the only real disadvantage to the new place is that we don't have a balcony or yard. does that mean i won't be growing food? HAH! i think not. we have window boxes in every window and are growing lettuce:


nasturtiums:


patio and cherry tomatoes (middle one is a cherry ready to be planted between the two patios, three little ones are cherries that will live in other pots):


snow peas that will become a living curtain as they climb the fishing line i've strung across that window (one of two planters pictured):


also basil and strawberries and a bunch of herbs that i couldn't get a decent pic of in the current light conditions. i'm probably going to colonize some space on the fire escape, which i should get to soon since the season is wearing on. the stuff i put out there i'm sure i'll be sharing with our neighbors so i'll be planting something not too precious or something we already have lots of. next year i'm going to ask our landlady if we can put in raised beds all along the back of the building where there is a lonely strip of weedy, unloved grass that no one even walks by. if there's a spigot outside i was going to put in a soaker hose to make watering easier. i did a little guerrilla gardening along the front. there are herb seeds sprinkled amongst the "decorative" (read:pompous, ugly) grass and sunflowers amongst the ugly neglected bushes. i'm not babying those, whatever grows, grows. if the herbs do well the pompous grass may just mysteriously disappear in the night. all the neighbors i've talked to like this idea :)
i apologize for the terrible terrible pics. it's nearly impossible to photograph plants on a windowsill from the inside and not have then either backlit or horribly flash lit. i'll try again with the flash after dark and see if that's better. the nasturtium one turned out ok because i can stand on the fire escape to take it

patchwork skirt goodness

difficulty level: boy scout dropout
i get really bored at work. and angry. and frustrated with my life and all of humanity. i hate my goddamn job. one of the things i do to try to stay sane while there is take craft projects to work on while i talk to idiots. my entire office is filled with people so uncreative and generally useless that they stare at you like you have 4 heads for making your own dinner. they have no idea what to make of my crafts so they don't tell me to stop. this is fine with me, it makes them leave me alone.
i had it in my head that i wanted to make a fun patchwork peasant skirt for spring and it seemed like an easy enough project. i was going to fix the sewing machine to do it but that never ended up happening. also, 50lbs antique sewing machines can't come with me to work. that's ok, have needle and thread, will travel. this is a very forgiving and fairly portable project but it is very time consuming by hand, especially because i back stitched all the seams for added strength since i want the final product to be able to take some abuse. i'm hard on my stuff and have too much time on my hands, what can i say? this took several months of working on it casually. if i'd used the machine and focused it could have been done in an afternoon or two. oh well, it's barely spring now so lots of time to enjoy it still. word to the wise: do wearable time consuming projects a season in advance. spring skirts in the winter, fall scarves in the summer, warm socks and sweaters in the fall, etc. it makes sure you get lots of use out of your creations and keeps you looking forward to the next section of the year. just don't forget to enjoy the current season!
so. we start with the basic idea. this is going to be 4 tiers, each bigger then the last by, lets say 50%. simple wide elastic waist band, patch pockets, maybe an appliqué or two, some lace along one of the tiers somewhere. i was going to do a little beaded belly bracelet thing but scrapped that idea as A) i have no desire to draw attention to my stomach, and B) it would make it much less washable if it's attached. i went to dressew while they had a huge sale on and picked up 1/2-1 meter of some 9 lightweight cottons, mostly fun prints that i thought looked nice together. i have lots of fabric leftover. i might do another one by machine. or some other fun patchwork thing. i like this type of organic, make-it-up-as-you-go design.
take measurement of waist, add 50% so it gathers nicely, divide roughly into 6 (or however many patches you want in the first tier). this gives you the width of the bits for the top. for the length i took the total length i wanted the skirt and divided by 4. for the top tier i added an extra 2 inches for the waistband. that gave me top patches of about 12"x11" if i remember correctly. yours may be different. remember to leave some 1/4-1/2" for seam allowance. cut them out (pinking sheers will save you lots of future headache in fraying or surging or french seaming) in the colours that please you. lay them out like so: [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] and see if you like the order. remember that the two ends will be joined together in a loop. stitch them all together. you know to put the right sides together so your raw edges are on the inside, right? course you could just overlap them or put the edges on the outside on purpose, if that's how you roll. or if you fuck up and want to say you did it on purpose. now fold over the top and make a sleeve for your elastic. leave about a 2" gap that you'll close after.
tip->measure your elastic by simply wrapping at around yourself, put the measuring tape down. they all stretch differently and you may want more or less tightness. leave an inch or two of overlap on your elastic and mark in chalk where they overlap before you cut. you can thread your elastic through the sleeve easier if you stick a big safety pin in the end first. make sure it's lying flat, then sew the elastic to itself securely. close your gap and spread out the fabric so it's gathered evenly. sew through the elastic in several lines so it doesn't twist inside while you're wearing it.
ok, have mini skirt so far, yes? tier two will be 50% bigger then tier 1. go get a calculator. divide into the amount of patches that pleases you. i did some bigger and smaller for fun and randomness. it doesn't have to be perfect. sew into a loop like we did before and we're ready to attach 2 to 1. i found it easiest to leave tier 2 inside out and put it around tier 1 laid out on a table. that way your right sides are together. find the middle of each on either side and pin to each other. then find the far fold of tier 2 on either side and pin it to the far fold of tier one. make sense? so far we should have the two pieces pinned together in 4 places evenly around the circle so the four compass points of each layer are pinned to each other and tier two has big loops of extra fabric between the pins. unfortunately i didn't take pics or this would be easier to explain. now for each section you've created you're going to find the middle of each layer and pin it together. repeat that until you have a pin about every inch and layer two is all nicely evenly gathered onto the bottom of tier 2. if you pick it up and shake it out you should see how you now have a knee-length skirt that's wider at the bottom. stitch that down, flattening the gathering as you go.
repeat the steps for tier 2 to make tiers 3 and 4. now you have an ankle length gypsy-style skirt that flares dramatically at the bottom! have someone help you pin it while you're wearing it for the final hem.
i added wide lace along the bottom of tier 2. i was originally going to put it along the hem but decided it looked better in the middle. adding it to the top of a tier where it's gathered would have been much harder to make it look nice since the fabric wouldn't have been flat there. i added a few random patches to add bits of colour and two patch pockets which i'm totally in love with. not enough of my clothes have pockets and these are adorable and useful! put appliqués and patches and pockets wherever you like. just fold over all the edges of the patch size of your choice and sew directly down as close to the edge of the patch as possible. that sewing will show so try to be neat about it. unless you'd prefer to be messy about it in contrasting thread, that would be fun too. for pockets hem one edge before you attach it and don't sew down that side, obviously. the pic is not mine but it is the same style. i'll replace it with my own when i get my damn camera working

perfect garlic bread from scratch

difficulty level: rolling in her grave
yes, more garlic. you always need more. yes you do. shut up.
i haven't posted anything in a while, sorry about that. moving and drama and crap. i should have some pics of the new place up soon. the housewarming party went well. until i have something better to say, i give you PERFECT garlic bread:
you can do this with pre-made french bread if you're short on time but i really think it's worth it to do this from start to finish on a lazy afternoon. goes beautifully with pasta or a nice light cream soup. i use my own homemade butter for this (possibly because i'm crazy). if you want to do that it's really easy: just take whipping cream at room temp, whip it way past the point of whipping cream and you'll see the fat separate from the milk. squeeze the newborn butter to the side of the bowl and pour off the milk (keep that, it's perfectly good), rinse the butter under cold water three or four times, breaking it up to wash out the extra milk, then mix in a little salt. you can easily double or triple this but it may or may not freeze well. the dough and butter would probably freeze better separately.
Ingredients:
bread
* 2 -2 1/2 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup warm water
* 1/2 tablespoon instant yeast
* 1/2 tablespoon sugar
* 1 tablespoon oil
garlic butter
* 1/4-1/3 cup butter (room temp, homemade really is better)
* 1/2 teaspoon dill
* 6 garlic cloves, minced (i run it through my garlic grinder)
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper
Directions:
1. mix the yeast and sugar in a measuring cup, that keeps it from getting lumpy, add the cup of warm water and stir together. let sit for 5 min.
2. mix 2 cups flour and salt in a med sized bowl, then dump in yeast mix and stir until a soft dough forms.
3. kneed until dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour if needed. don't add so much flour that it becomes dry, it should still be slightly sticky.
4. rinse out the bowl and swirl the oil around in it, put the dough back in and turn it over so it's coated.
5. cover the bowl (i like to wrap a tea towel over and under it), and place in a warm (not hot!) oven to rise. i usually turn my oven on to the lowest setting that will turn on the element for 5 min and then turn off.
6. once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and form into a long, thin loaf. place on a cookie sheet that you've oiled and sprinkled with cornmeal. slash diagonally with a sharp knife 3 or 4 times. place it back in your warm oven until it's doubled again.
7. turn the oven up to 375f for 20 minute my oven runs a little cool so i turn it up to closer to 380 or 390. a little too warm is better then a little too cool in this case. after 20 min it should be nicely golden on top. let it cool until no more then warm.
8. in the mean time mix all ingredients of the garlic butter.
9. slice vertically into 3/4-1 inch slices, leaving the bottom crust intact. carefully pull slices apart so you can spread the butter on each side of each slice without breaking them apart.
10. wrap loosely but completely in foil and bake at 400f for 10-15 minute serve immediately.

knitting socks

difficulty rating: moonprincess ravendark
or how to lose your mind and tear your project apart at least 4 times doing something much more advanced then it's "beginner" label:
i am a beginner knitter. or i was until now anyways. i think i get to call myself intermediate after this nonsense. i was making scarves and the like. big rectangles you can't screw up too badly on big needles where i could see what i was doing with big fluffy yarn that was nice to work with and created fast results. then i got the notion that i wanted to learn a few new skills and try making a basic sock. something comfy to wear on cold evenings around the house, you know? my knitting skills thus far included basic knit and purl, two types of cast on, two types of bind off, and one way each to increase and decrease stitches. i understood how knit and purl were put into different patterns to create moss, stocking, or rib stitch, and had made such challenging things as a simple hat (that ended up too big, lessons in gauge not learned yet), and a pair of bootie slippers (that's slippers like little boots, btw, not for your bum) wherein i learned how to read a basic pattern and use the "wrong" size in said pattern to make my gauge cooperate and make the right size. i think i've got a decent handle on things, no? oh no. i am very much mistaken. i am now about to learn:
-how to read a much more advanced knitting pattern with at least 5 abbreviations i've never heard of
-how to use double pointed needles (something akin to teaching a dyslexic porcupine sign language)
-how to basically create your own pattern from a template, after the 4th try
-how to work with loosely spun, very uncooperative yarn
-what slipping a stitch means
-what the hell a gusset is
-slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitched over decreases, and how it can create holes if you don't do it perfectly
-brush up on math skills and thinking 4 steps ahead in 3D knotwork
-how to pick up and knit
-that things that don't seem to make sense in the pattern make more sense when you just try them, sometimes in scrap yarn on much bigger needles
-that sometimes it really doesn't make any damn sense so figure out something that does
-not crying when you pull your project apart for the 3rd time
-solving your own damn problems, including when to say "screw that noise! i'm doing this instead because it works!"
-grafting the toe end so there's magically no seam
i was originally working with this template/pattern: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/FEATsocks101.html which i don't recommend you do because it's written for psychics who are already expert knitters and can understand what the author is talking about even when large chunks of instructions are missing or completely incorrect. i got slightly better help from this series of youtube videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NQMGCo_mXY&feature=related since it's much better to learn knitting from videos then pictures and writing if you don't have someone to teach you in person. i've never written a knitting pattern before so bear with me but i still think i can do a better job then the original. i have taken the original and modified it to make sense to a real person:


The key measurement for sock sizing is the ankle circumference. For women, this is usually about 8 inches, for men about 10 inches. Measure the ankle of the foot in question for the best fit. From this key measurement, subtract 1 inch when knitting for adults and half an inch when knitting for kids. This assumes that you are knitting with typical sock yarn. If you are knitting with a much thicker yarn, do not subtract as much from the ankle measurement.

Get the gauge of the yarn you want to use. This is, of course, best measured from an actual gauge swatch (stockinette for 4"x4", generally)-- even better if done in the round rather than flat since that's how the sock will be knit. When using a yarn not originally meant for socks, use needles a size or two smaller than the label calls for. (i was using red heart soft touch which recommends 6mm needles but it worked much better on 3.5mm) Socks are knitted at a tighter gauge than other garments or they'd be so open weave you'd poke your toe right through them. think of the difference between how tight a shawl is knitted vs. a sock.

The number of stitches to cast on is the magic number, X. Once you've got that, you can create an entire pattern. X is the stitch gauge (per inch) multiplied by the ankle circumference, minus 1 inch or half an inch, as the case may be.

For example: If your yarn provides a gauge of 30 sts over 4 inches, divide by 4 to get the number of stitches to the inch (7.5 sts). Then multiply this number by the ankle circumference less 1 inch. So for someone with an 8" ankle: 7.5 x 7=52 sts.

mine was closer to 25 stitches. this is not typical but this yarn is strange and loosely spun.

The number of stitches you cast on will also be determined somewhat by the ribbing you want to do. K1 p1 rib requires an even number of stitches; k2 p2 rib requires that the number of stitches be divisible by 4. If not, the ribs won't match up at the beginning of the round. it's a good idea to do your test swatch in the round, using the rib pattern you plan to use. in other words, start and re-start your project until you are happy with what you try on after 5-10 rows. yes this is really fucking annoying.

i was using a k3, p2 pattern but i don't think this provided enough elasticity. i'm not sure if making each "rib" bigger or smaller will provide more stretchiness

This section is based entirely on the number of stitches to cast on, X, as calculated above, so be sure you're happy with that number! try it on after a few rows to be sure.

1. Start

Cast on X stitches; divide evenly across 3 double-pointed needles. A long tailed cast-on is recommended; it's nice and stretchy. i simple cast on all onto one needle and then slipped the stitches onto the other needles, being careful not to twist them. there's a decent demonstration here but the key is to keep all the completed stitches on the bottom and the loops at the top without the yarn in between the needles getting wrapped around and forming "yarn overs" where there shouldn't be or making your fabric go in the wrong direction. if it's screwed up you'll be able to see within a few rows. also, keep an eye on how many stitches you have. unlike freeform things like scarves, it's really important to be ocd about the number constantly being perfect. this is the part that annoyed me the most. i suppose i should get over it if i want to be more then a beginner. in any case, the difference of one row or stitch can and will make or break your whole project so be vigilant.

Knit a few rows of ribbing -- check to make sure it's not twisted. you can tell where your round ends by where the tail of your yarn is at the bottom. this usually ends up between two needles. now wouldn't this all be so much nicer if you could get circular needles this small? are you going crazy and cross eyed from the dpn's yet? i am. the key is to ignore all but the two needles in your fingers and trust that the others will stay put. that trust only comes from knowing your tension is consistent and trustworthy, which is why i don't think this is a beginner project, but we've already come this far so moving on!

2. The Cuff + Leg

Keep ribbing some more. if you're working with some crazy pattern your are more adventurous then i and i wish you gods' speed. i just made a ribbed tube until i deemed it long enough. mine was some 4 inches, yours might be more or less, please yourself. just take note of how many rows that was so the other sock will match.

3. Divide for the heel & knit the heel rows

Starting at the beginning of the round, put half the stitches on one needle. that means either knit or slip half of X onto one dpn. remember that your working yarn end has to be at the beginning/end of this new section that you're forming. the heel is a flap that will be knit back and forth on one needle so when you're done you will have a tube with one side extending down past the other side. the part we are not working with right now (the other half of the stitches) should be divided between the other two dpn's to make the next section easier. you're then going to ignore them until the heel flap is done

Work in stockinette stitch (knit right side, purl wrong side) for 2/3 to 3/4 as many rows as there are heel stitches, slipping the first stitch of every row but the first. For a sock less than 50 stitches around in total, 2/3 is good; with more stitches, use 3/4 as the ratio. For example, on a 48-stitch sock with 24 heel stitches, you will work 16 rows; on an 80-stitch sock with 40 heel stitches, use 30 rows. If it's an odd number or fraction, always round up to the nearest even number.

***you must slip the first stitch of each row other then the first in the heel flap!!***

i used 25 as my magic X # so my heel flap was 17 rows long in stockinette. MAKE SURE TO END WITH A PURL ROW SO YOU WILL START TURNING THE HEEL ON A KNIT ROW!!!!! if you don't it will screw up all the other directions and you will drive yourself completely crazy! if you need to do one extra row to make that happen then do so!!!!

4. Turn the heel

Still working on the heel stitches, you're now going to reduce and turn the heel. this means you are still just working on half your total stitches on the one needle but we are going to create an inverted triangle in the center of that flap where the edges of that triangle are all reduction stitches and you end up with a little cup. when you are done this section you should be able to turn your work sideways and see a 90 degree angle.

A bit more math is required here. Divide the number of heel stitches by 3. For a 48-stitch sock, you have 24 heel stitches. This divides evenly as 8-8-8. For a 32-stitch sock with 16 heel stitches, you get 5-6-5.

my 25 stitch sock had a 12 stitch heel flap (since i rounded down, so as not to drive myself crazy) so it divided into 4-4-4. now these are imaginary divisions. all you're trying to do is make an open inverted triangle shape, with the middle opening at the bottom being one third of your stitches. slipping the first stitch of each row besides the first will create loops along the sides that will make it easier to join the flap to the rest of the sock.

Foundation row RS: k the first two-thirds of the stitches, SKP (sl 1, k1, psso), turn
WS: sl 1, p the centre third, p2tog, turn
RS: sl 1, k the centre third, SKP, turn

****this is the hardest part of the sock!!!****
it is very important that your decrease stitch from the previous row is included in the decrease stitch from the next row up or you will create a hole. so if your foundation row has you knit 8 and then slip the 9th stitch, knit the 10th stitch and then pass the 9th stitch over the 10th stitch, you must then turn your work around, slip the first stitch, knit 4 stitches, then purl 2 together so we are including that stitch we did the skp reduction on in those two that are together. this will not only prevent a hole (since skp is essentially casting off a stitch) but it also connects the stitch after the reduction with the rest of the piece so you're creating a gather that makes the 90 degree turn. does that make sense? if not try it on big yarn and big needles and hopefully you'll see how it works. that's the only way i got it.

Repeat these last two rows until your triangle shape of gathers reaches the edges of your row, in other words when you no longer have any stitches to do reductions on at the end of the rows if you've been following the pattern above. The right side must be facing. if for some reason it's not then do another row of purl so it is. if it already is then do two rows. we should end the heel shaping on the right side facing.

5. Shape the Gusset

those two needles holding the other half of the stitches? we're going to stop ignoring them now. On each side, you'll be picking half the number of heel stitches you began with -- that is one quarter of the cast-on stitches. i'm not mathematically inclined so i just went with the amount of loops i had created by slipping the first stitch on each row of the heel flap.


Using the same needle as the heel, pick up the required number of stitches along the first side, using the loops created by the slipping in step 3. This will be referred to as Needle 1 but it's not that important. you'll figure out which is which as we go. picking up means putting your new needle into the loop created along the side of your flap and wrapping the yarn around as if you were doing a normal knit stitch, then pulling it through. by doing so you have created a new stitch. there are decent instructions for turning the heel and picking up the edges/forming the gusset here

Using a new needle, knit across all the top, instep (non-heel) stitches (that's two needle's worth right now). This will be referred to as Needle 2. that means we will now be using one needle for the top half of the stitches, and two needles for the bottom half of the stitches (divided evenly of course)

Using one more new needle, pick up the required number of stitches across the other side, using the loops created by the slipping in step 2. With this same needle, knit half of the remaining heel stitches onto this same needle. This will be referred to as Needle 3.

You should now have the top of the sock's stitches onto one needle, this is called the instep. the bottom of the sock should be divided onto two needles. with me so far? then you're doing really well! only one more tricky stage, then we're pretty much home free.

6. Decrease the Gusset

On the very next round, work a decrease round:

Decrease Round
Needle 1: Knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1
Needle 2: Knit even
Needle 3: K1, SKP, knit to end of needle

Alternate decrease rounds and even rounds until you're back to X, the number of stitches you cast on originally.

what this means is that we are forming a little (non, inverted this time) triangle to connect the heel flap and instep (which are now joined by you're pick up and knit stitches) to the rest of the sock. the instep is the widest part of your foot so we're decreasing after that to go down the rest until we get to the toe you're decreases are all being made on the sides, one stitch in from the end of each needle, and then a normal knit row in between each row with decreases. so you're going to knit one row normally all the way around, then the next row you're starting with needle one (one of the ones on the bottom of the foot) and knitting until you come to 3 stitches from the end of the needle (side of the foot), then knit two together, then knit one normally. on needle two, which holds the whole top of the foot you're going to start by knitting one normally, then knit two together, then continue till three stitches from the end of the needle, knit two together, knit one. next needle (going back under the foot) knit one normally, knit two together, knit till the end of the needle, which is also the end of the round. knit the next round normally. repeat until you have the magic number of stitches again. you may need to fudge a bit and do one extra decreasing round on one side only or something. this is where solving your own damn problems comes in.

the good news is it's all easy from here!

7. Foot

Once you're back to the original number of stitches, X, knit until the foot of the sock measures 2 inches less than the length of the actual foot that will be wearing the sock.

8. Decrease for the toe

Recall that the center of the round is the center of the bottom part of the foot. Make sure your stitches are distributed as follows: 1/4 of the stitches on Needle 1 starting at the center of the round, 1/2 of the stitches on Needle 2 (these are the stitches for the top of the foot), and the remaining 1/4 on Needle 3.

Work a Decrease round:
Needle 1: knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1.
Needle 2: k1, ssk(slip, slip, knit slipped stitches together decrease), knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1.
Needle 3: k1, ssk, knit to end of needle.
Work an even round.
Alternate decrease rounds and even rounds until 8 stitches remain.

9. Finish

There as many ways to finish a sock as there are to make one. Which method you choose is a matter of taste, skill and patience.

You can reduce the toe down to 8 stitches and do a two-needle bind-off.

Or reduce down to 4 stitches, cut the yarn leaving a long tail, thread this tail on a yarn needle and pull the thread through the 4 stitches, pulling them tight.

Or cast off both sides and sew them together.

The neat and tidy prefer grafting, also known as Kitchener stitch, for a seamless toe. this is what i tried, but since i fucked up and was purling all around instead of knitting all around it didn't work like i wanted. it didn't occur to me until after to turn the whole thing inside out but oh well. i'll do that next time.

handmade yule

i hate commercial christmas. hate it. i hate it being all about money and stuff and being a failed psychic of other people's taste. i usually do some of my gifts handmade and most of the food for my yule party from scratch but this year i've decided all my gifts will be homemade. a bit of the food will be bought premade but most will be from-scratch indulgences. many of the recipients of those gifts read this blog so i wont detail them until afterwards, hopefully with pics, but suffice it to say this year it's about the time we spend together and the effort and care that went into a gift. take that, metrotown! and i'm not watching tv again until the boxing day ads are gone! so there!

gaaaaarlic knots

difficulty rating: bottle short of a six pack
been a while since i posted hasn't it? this is also turning into a mostly food blog but kinda boring since my camera is a piece of crap. oh well. this pic isn't *my* garlic knots, but they look just like them so good enough:


garlic knots, for the uninitiated, are garlic bread's sexy younger cousin. if done right they are tastier, prettier, and faster then the bread from scratch. i'm going to get so fucking fat because i can't stop making these and eating them all immediately:
turn on your oven to it's lowest setting
mix together
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 Tbs instant yeast
1 1/2 Tbs sugar
set aside, mix separately:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs salt
once your yeast mix starts bubbling, dump it into the four mixture along with:
1/4 cup oil (olive, canola, melted butter, whatever)
stir until a soft dough forms, then knead for a few min, adding a spoonful or two more flour if needed to keep it from being too sticky
cover the bowl with a clean towel (i like to wrap it under too since my bowl is plastic) and place in your warm (not hot) oven. turn the oven off and keep the door closed for 20-30 min
now your dough should be twice the size. punch it down and divide into two balls. place each ball on a big greased pan/cookie sheet and divide each ball into 16 even pieces. turn your oven onto the lowest setting again.
roll each piece quickly between your hands to make an 8 inch "rope" about 1/3" thick, then tie into a single knot. try to leave enough space in between so they wont be touching when they double in size again.
turn your oven back off and lay your towel over the rack. put your pans in to rise again.
once they're big and puffy, remove the towel and turn the heat up to 325 for about 20 min or until lightly golden brown. in the mean time heat in the microwave for two min:
1/2 cup butter (can sub half olive oil if desired)
1/2-1 tsp salt
1/2-1 tsp fresh pepper
1/2-1 tsp oregano (or dill or parsley)
4-6 cloves fresh minced garlic
and yes 2 min is way longer then needed to melt the butter. we're also trying to partially cook the garlic and get all the flavors into the fat.
once the knots are cooked, take them out, turn off the oven, spoon the garlic butter over them (being sure to get some garlic bits on each) and top each with a pinch of:
parmesan, preferably fresh but the powdered type will do
and put pans back in the (off) oven for 5 min to let the cheese melt and the butter soak in.
now try not to eat ALL of them in the next two hours wouldja?

oh dear the cider

difficulty rating: pint
we started some hard apple cider as one of the wine experiments and since then i've done it a couple of times. it is by far the easiest booze i've made and it's very tasty. something like a cross between mead and beer. it only takes a month and i even got good results with no-name brand apple juice and brown sugar. the first time i got drunk on this i woke up the next day not hungover, still drunk. it's a bit harsh and beer-y at first sip but is mellow a the second sip and soon tastes like more, as in, i want more of that. you simply take a gallon of good apple juice from the green grocer (comes in a nice sterile glass jug which is now your carboy), pour out a little to make some space, add a cup and a half of sugar(white or brown or whatever), and a pkg of champagne yeast from the homebrewing store. shake the crap out of it, top up with the reserved juice to an inch and a half from the top if needed, then replace the lid with a balloon that you've poked a few holes in. leave it in the closet for 3 weeks, then siphon it into pop bottles (sterilized with bleach and soap, rinsed very well. they can take the carbonation, wine bottles can't) leaving the sediment at the bottom out, and add another cup of sugar. cap it and leave it for another week. ta dah! chill it before serving and go start another batch, you'll want more. i did a 4 gallon batch in a water cooler jug (sterilized) with no-name apple juice and brown sugar and it turned out just fine too. you can use one pkg of champagne yeast for up to 5 gallons of cider so the 4 gallon one cost me around $20 and gave me 8 2-liter bottles. pretty damn good i say! i haven't measured but i'd say the alcohol content ends up around 10%, certainly higher then beer but not quite as high as some wines.