Summer treats

There was a nasty heat wave last week, complete with temperatures near 100 degrees and humidity near 100 percent. Also, an air-conditioning snafu in my car. But that's beside the point. Because this is coastal Virginia, the heat wave came to an abrupt and very welcome end the other evening in a string of spectacular thunderstorms that raked the beach and the city and the cow pastures alike. Before the storms, though, I closed the blinds to keep the house cool and baked lemon bars after brewing a pitcher of iced tea. If you're not familiar with the American South (very different from a South American... ), you may not know the refreshing joy of a glass of iced tea and a lemon bar on a hot, hot day. There's something about citrus that cuts through the heat and humidity. Unlike most southerners, I don't make my iced tea super-sweet, but these lemon bars more than make up for that!



Without exception, I grease my pans with vegetable shortening. It contains less moisture than butter, so it won't alter the texture of your baked goods.



Look at all that buttery-sugary goodness.



Mixing. Not quite there yet...



The crust dough should look like a thick paste.



Mmm. Pasty.



Make sure you spread the dough evenly.



I had to resist taking a taste of the freshly browned shortbread crust. Mmm.



Ingredients for a delicious custard.



The custard is really thin before you bake it.



Just go ahead and pour it on the warm crust.



The custard will be just about as thick as the crust.



Browned again. Resisting a taste-test again.



Yes, it's an old sieve. But it works.



Finished bars. Don't you want to dig in?

I swear I took pictures of the bars once I'd cut them, but my old memory card gobbled them up the way my mom and my friends and I gobbled up the lemon bars!

Lemon bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust, cream together 1 cup of softened butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and 2 cups flour. Press this mixture into a greased 9"x13" pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden.

The best thing to do here is to wash the dishes you just used while the crust is baking. Then you can start making the filling when the crust comes out of the oven. For the filling, beat together 4 eggs, 4 tbsp lemon juice, 2 cups granulated sugar, 4 tbsp flour, and 1/4 tsp salt. Pour on top of the crust and bake for another 20-25 minutes, until evenly browned. Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Now, because this is an egg-based custard, I should tell you to keep the lemon bars in the fridge after they've cooled in the pan. This advice never goes into effect in my house, though, because the lemon bars disappear before they have a chance to turn.

Notes: I haven't attempted to veganize this recipe (which would make my grandmother's ashes swirl in their urn), but I imagine that margarine and Ener-G would indeed work just fine. Also, try substituting lime juice for lemon juice. Yum!

Tropical headgear

Well hello, Virginia summer. Nice to see you again. Might I say that while you are hot and steamy, you have nothing on a Florida spring? Mm-hmm. It's true.

Last month, I spent a week in Florida (and fell in love with Miami), a trip which included a stop in Jacksonville to visit with a friend, Jaye, who lives there. Jaye's mom is going through cancer treatment, so I made her a couple of hats. They're easy-care hats, made of acrylic. However, I realized that acrylic might not be the most comfortable material to wear in the Florida summer. I had some nice, high-end cotton yarn -- just enough for a hat, I thought -- in my stash at home. Any worsted-weight cotton yarn will do, of course, but I wanted to use something special for Jaye's mom.

What you'll need: 1 skein (really, about 90 yards) of your favorite cotton yarn, 12" or 16" circular needles in US sizes 6 and 8, a set of US size 8 double-pointed needles, one stitch marker, and a tapestry needle. Using the smaller circular needle, cast on 90 stitches. Place marker, don't twist the stitches, and knit 8 rounds. Switch to larger circular, and knit 22-25 more rounds, depending on how big you want the hat to be. Now begin your decreases. Once there are too few stitches to work on the circular needle, switch to double-pointed needles, distributing the stitches however you like.

First decrease row: *K8, K2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (You'll have 81 sts left.)
Next row: knit
Second dec row: *K7, K2tog, rep from *. (72 sts)
Next row: knit
Third dec row: *K6, K2tog, rep from *. (63 sts)
Next row: knit
Fourth dec row: *K5, K2tog, rep from *. (54 sts)
Next row: knit
Fifth dec row: *K4, K2tog, rep from *. (45 sts)
Next row: knit
Sixth dec row: *K3, K2tog, rep from *. (36 sts) -- This is usually when I switch to dpns.
Next row: knit
Seventh dec row: *K2, K2tog, rep from *. (27 sts)
Next row: knit
Eighth dec row: *K1, K2tog, rep from *. (18 sts)
Next row: knit
Last dec row: K2tog, rep to end of round. (9 sts)

Cut yarn and use the tapestry needle to thread the yarn tail through remaining 9 stitches. Weave in ends, and there you have it -- a lovely little cap!





I am a hat model, I suppose.



I love how the even decreases make a spiral pattern.

Tomorrow morning, this hat will be on its way to sunny Florida!

Frosted fluffiness

My mom has asked me several times to make another scarf for her. She has roughly a dozen of my scarves, but she always thinks of a new color or style that she would like. So I set aside my Etsy knitting and made another scarf for Mom.

One of her favorites is this furry beast:



Rawr!

She wanted a pink furry beast in the same style. Luckily, Michael's had Fun Fur on sale last weekend, so I picked up the necessary materials. This scarf is an excellent weekend project; I started it on Friday morning and finished it on Sunday evening during a "Whale Wars" marathon. (I would have finished it sooner, but I didn't knit a single stitch on Saturday.) Knit with me, won't you?

What you need: 2 balls of white Lion Brand Fun Fur (or another eyelash yarn), 2 balls of any color Fun Fur (the purple one is "grape" and the pink one is "soft pink"), one pair US size 11 needles, and one tapestry needle or crochet hook for weaving in ends.



I swear that the top strand is pink.



Holding one strand of white and one strand of color together, cast on 16 stitches. For every row, *K1, P1, rep from * for K1P1 ribbing. When you have knit your scarf to a desired length, bind off in patt, then weave in ends.



Tada! Using white Fun Fur with a color gives the scarf a frosted look.

Variation: cast on 12 stitches instead of 16 for a narrower (or child-size) scarf. The scarf will be about 4 inches wide with 16 stitches and about 3 inches wide with 12 stitches.

Worldwide Knit in Public Day

That's right! Get your needles and your yarn, and get out there!

My WWKIP Day is this Sunday, June 13, but you can click here to find the day your knitting community has chosen. If I remember to take my camera, I'll post pictures here of both the event and my project -- a summer chemo cap for my friend's mom.

Happy (public) knitting!

Summer joys

I love flowers, whether they're cultivated or growing in the wild. At the beginning of this year, I moved in with my mom to save money and to get my life on a different track. My mom inherited the house a couple of years ago, but throughout my childhood, I spent many hours there visiting with relatives. I never quite realized, until this spring, how many gorgeous plants grow there. Azalea season is huge in our area, and we had quite the variety this spring! In late summer, the gardenias will bloom profusely, and we will cut the flowers and set them in shallow bowls of water in the house. In the meantime, though, I want to share some of the lovelies that adorn the yard right now.





Purple clematis behind the mailbox, and clematis bud. (The vine won't grab the plastic mailbox, so we installed an iron trellis.)







I have no idea what these yellow beauties are called, but they line one side of the house, and I love seeing them when I pull into the driveway.



Magenta clematis. Technically this is the neighbor's vine, but it grows on our mutual fence. These are democratic clematis. Flowers to the people! :P







Pink clematis by the front porch. These are on a trellis, too, but the leaves are so thick that you can't really see it.



These were a gift from one of my mom's customers. I planted them in the front yard flowerbed, and I really, really hope they don't succumb to my black thumb.



I suppose that people with no imagination would call this flower a weed and pull it out of the ground. Good thing the little plant is growing in my yard.



Another "weed". As a little girl, I called them "bee flowers" because the bumblebees seem to love them. They smell sweet and lend a bit of interest to an otherwise homogeneously green lawn.



Lastly, a whimsically beautiful dandelion puff.

So there you have it, some of the beauty of the front lawn. I love pulling into the driveway (or up to the curb) and seeing all the flowers. The back yard is lush and green...





... and we can see the cows when they're out to pasture. Believe it or not, I don't live in a rural area. There are family farms tucked away here and there, and I merely happen to live right next to one. It's just one more of my summer joys.

Knitters: the next generation

Am I a geek? Yes I am.

Next week, I'm going to give my ten-year-old cousin a crash course in knitting before she and her mom and her sister set off on an adventure across the country. Last night, I was putting together a "knit kit" for her as I pondered the perfect first project. Her mom thought it was pretty nifty that I make dishcloths, so hey, why not a dishcloth? I always need dishcloths, so I started one, and I'm sharing it here.

What you need: one pair of single-point needles in US size 4, 5, 6, or 7, depending upon your knitting style, and depending upon your desired results (smaller gauge needle = tighter knit, etc.); one ball cotton yarn; large-eyed blunt needle; scissors.

For dishcloths, I LOVE Lily's Sugar & Cream yarn. (Last summer, I was lucky to find an insane amount of Sugar & Cream mill ends at a North Carolina A.C. Moore, and I nearly had a conniption right there in the store.) You can use Lion Cotton, or any other yarn that is 100% cotton. Cotton cotton cotton.



(Isn't it GORGEOUS?)

Cast on 35 stitches. Here, I'm using US size 5 needles, because I like a dishcloth that can scrub my bean pot clean and live to tell the tale.





(I just love the look and feel of cotton yarn on bamboo needles.)

Now, knit every row* until the cloth is square, then bind off in knit and weave in your ends. Give your new dishcloth a quick rinse, and it's ready to go! I toss mine in the washer and dryer with my other towels. Sometimes I have to re-tuck the ends, but these dishcloths really hold up. No kidding, they will scrub your bean pot clean and live to tell the tale.

Happy knitting!

*If you want to get fancy with your garter stitch knitting, slip the first stitch of every row for a neat, smooth edge.

Red beans and rice didn't miss her

Oh, do I love Latin food. I especially love beans, and after I discovered the joy that is sofrito, I started making red beans and rice in a vaguely Puerto Rican style. I say vaguely because I have Puerto Rican relatives who argue that vegetarian Latin food is not Latin food. To that I say, sí se puede... cocinar el alimento vegetariano! (Feel free to correct my Spanish. I'm winging it.)

Ahem. If you didn't already know, sofrito is a cooking base made of onions, peppers, and garlic, all braised in olive oil. You can use it in a host of Latin dishes. You can make it yourself, or you can find it in a jar. My aunt recently informed me that sofrito in a jar is a sin, so in the interest of preserving my immortal soul, I set out to make my own sofrito. Luckily, my friend Kris gave me a vegan Latin cookbook for my birthday earlier this month. This is my interpretation of the sofrito recipe found therein.

Sofrito con tomate: Dice 2 lbs each of onions and green bell peppers, 1 lb tomatoes, and 6 cloves of garlic. Throw in a handful of chopped cilantro if you like. (I don't like, and I'm not the only one.) Toss this delicious mess, along with 1/4 cup olive oil and a dash of black pepper, into a big heavy pot. Get it simmering over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, then turn the heat down to low and let it cook down for roughly 30 minutes. (It takes less time if you omit the juicy juicy tomatoes, which is fine.) The goal is to reduce the sofrito to about 1/3 of its original volume. When it's done, I break out the immersion blender, because I prefer smooth sofrito. If you like yours chunky, then go on with your bad self. I won't judge.

Now what do you do with all this sofrito? I place about a cup and a half in a glass container, pour a little olive oil on top, and stick it in the fridge. It'll keep that way for a couple of weeks. I dump the rest into freezer bags and defrost the amounts I need later.

To get rid of (or to override) the lingering aroma of onions, cook something right away. I suggest red beans and rice. Again, this is my whitegirl interpretation and may not be entirely authentic. First, prepare your rice any old way. (I use a rice cooker.) While the rice cooks, make the beans.

Red beans and rice: Peel and dice two small white potatoes. Boil the potatoes until they're nearly done -- still firm, not mushy. They won't break apart when you pierce them with a fork. Drain the potatoes and leave them in the pot. Drain and rinse one 15-oz. can of red kidney beans (dark or light, doesn't matter), and add the beans to the potatoes. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a packet of Goya sazón con achiote, 1/4 cup of sofrito, 1/4 cup of water, and a tablespoon or so of tomato paste. Alternatively, you can omit the water and tomato paste, and use another 1/4 cup of sofrito instead. I just like a punch of tomato flavor. Cook this mess over medium heat until the potatoes are done and the sauce is thickened, about 20 minutes. You may need to add a little more water during cooking if the sauce thickens before the potatoes are cooked. Use your judgment.

Remember the rice? Fluff it up, pile some on a plate, and top it with the beans. Devour. Repeat if desired.

Variation: for a Cuban flair, replace red beans with black beans, omit the potatoes, and add a little diced/sliced green bell pepper. Yum!

Latin rice-and-bean dishes are incredibly easy and inexpensive to prepare. They're also outstandingly delicious, especially if you're down for a little kitchen experimentation. Happy cooking!

On being a democratic knitter...

In my previous post, I mentioned that I purchased my yarn at a craft store. I'm no knitting snob. I don't see the point of spending an obscene amount of money on tools and supplies at the LYS if I can find them at a lower price at Michaels or online. That doesn't mean I possess indiscriminate tastes when it comes to knitting; I look for a balance of value and quality. I listen to the experts, not to the snobs.

The projects I post will therefore be available to all knitters. Sometimes I may have found premium yarn at a discount price, and I encourage you to do the same. Look on eBay or Craigslist, or swap with other knitters. Use coupons. Look for sales and clearances. My advice holds for all types of crafters: you don't have to be loaded to produce quality crafts.

One of my favorite yarns is Caron Simply Soft. It comes in an impressive variety of colors, and it knits up very nicely. Michaels runs 2-for-$5 specials on Simply Soft quite often! Loops & Threads Snuggly Wuggly, the new proprietary brand at Michaels, makes fabulous baby items. And who doesn't love a dishcloth knit from super-affordable Sugar'n Cream? Occasionally, I stop by the LYS (The Knitting Corner) to check out their clearance bin. I've found some wonderful yarns there. The ladies at TKC also possess a wealth of knowledge. If you're in the area, go there!

I do not skimp on needles, however. Needles are the durable goods in your knitting bag; choose them well. I prefer wood over metal, and I don't mind paying a little extra for needles that will last and that will make things easier on me in the long run. (As I've mentioned, I have early-onset arthritis, and metal needles, with their coldness and inflexibility, tend to exacerbate the condition.) Clover (bamboo) and Brittany (birch) make up the majority of my needle stock. I have some Lantern Moon needles -- a set of single-points and one circular needle -- that were a gift from my fellow creatively minded dad, but purchasing them regularly would bankrupt me. If someone gives you an expensive knitting-related gift, cherish it!

My point here is that, while there are costs associated with the craft of knitting, one can keep expenses down by being a smart shopper and by not worrying about what the snobs think. And really, doesn't that go for everything in life?

Felted knitting needle case: the beginning

I had a revelation about wool yarn, and it has to do with cheese. Stay with me here. Wool is an animal fiber, but harvesting wool doesn't directly require the slaughter of sheep. Cheese is an animal product, but it doesn't directly require the slaughter of cows (or of goats, or of sheep, etc.). Therefore, if I find it ethically acceptable to eat cheese, I must find it ethically acceptable to wear wool.

(You can argue with me that I'm supporting the meat industry through my consumption of cheese, and that's fine. I accept your argument as valid. I simply prefer to accept the logic that by dropping out of the animal-product industry altogether, I give the industry no incentive to change its ways, and therefore I sabotage the overall goal of making life better for animals. For the record, I still refuse to wear silk or leather. I know my boundaries.)

I realized that by not using wool, I was severely limiting myself in the world of knitting. No authentic South American or Irish styles? No felting? Nonsense! So I picked up some wool -- Patons Classic Wool -- at the craft store, and I got started. Here's the beginning of my first felted project, a needle case. I've cast on 85 stitches, using US size 9 needles, and I'm working in stockinette stitch. The project should take about 3 balls of wool. The color is "Regency", a gorgeous blend of pink, red, orange, and brown.



I love how the wool feels in my hands, and I adore how it looks in this gauge. Also, wooden needles are heavenly for my prematurely arthritic hands. If you make the switch from steel to wood, you'll never look back. The needles' surfaces get even smoother with use. It's a beautiful thing.



Even my cat is getting excited about the project. Or she just wants to play.



So that's the beginning of my new project. I'll post an update when I get to the actual felting.

Happy knitting!

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to my big sister! We won't discuss age, but it's a milestone birthday for her. Time to celebrate!

Knitting projects: March 2010

What am I working on? A felted knitting needle case, a third baby sweater set for Etsy, and a sweater for my niece.

The needle case is taking forever, naturally, because felting involves knitting a much bigger piece of fabric than one needs. (The fabric shrinks quite a bit during felting.) I'm trying to be patient with myself, using the needle case as "therapy knitting" between baby sweaters. I'm also taking pictures of the needle case as it progresses, so I'll be able to post a step-by-step.

The baby sweater sets are a little complicated, but still very fun to make. A set consists of a hat, a wrap sweater, and a pair of booties. I've made so many booties from this particular pattern that I can now make them without looking at the pattern. I've even thrown in some embellishment without screwing up the finished booties. I love it. This must be how my grandmother knitted: from memory, from intuition.

The sweater for my niece continues to be a pain in my butt. This item represents the first time I altered my basic wrap-sweater pattern. I altered EVERYTHING: the yarn, the gauge, the finished size, the fastenings. It's coming together, though, and I should be able to fit it on the kid later this week while I'm visiting my sister.

I've always been a more skilled editor than writer, hence the compulsive pattern alterations. I've designed several items from scratch, which is satisfying in itself, but I do relish a good alteration. Perhaps I am a knitgeek.

What's in the future for my knitting? More needle cases and other felted items (contingent upon a successful first attempt), and perhaps some summer goodies (cotton tank tops), some gift items, and definitely more baby stuff. (Note: I'll open the Etsy shop after I finish this darn baby set!)

I'll be out of town for several days, but I'm itching to post my favorite brownie recipe (and some step-by-step photos) when I get back!

Life Lessons

I've been on a blogging hiatus since November. Four months. The break wasn't intentional; it simply was. Because my life is now going in a different direction, so is The Total Betty. I wanted to stick to recipes and happy-fluffy-sunny topics here, but life isn't all about happiness, fluff, and sunshine. It's about everything. Also, I don't spend as much time baking as I used to. I am now living in a home with an electric oven, and I'm a gas girl all the way. (Pause for fart jokes.) Kinks must be worked out, because my last couple batches of pan cubano have come out with burned bottoms. (Pause again.) I have returned full-force to my favorite hobby, knitting, and I'm about to open up an Etsy shop. I'll post a link here when everything is straight. I'll keep posting recipes (including a step-by-step of a delicious chocolate cake), along with knitting projects and updates on life as I live it.

So here I am, in all my self-indulgent glory, to write about whatever. I've learned a few things in 30 years, and while my impressions of life are constantly evolving, I believe I've stumbled upon some truths. All this may change some day, but for now, it gets me through.

Please don't think of this as a pessimist's guide to life. I'm a realist, and if an optimist believes that the glass is half full and a pessimist believes that the glass is half empty, then a realist knows that if she hangs around long enough, she'll be stuck washing the glass. These things are going to happen. How you react makes all the difference in your quality of life.

1. People will disappoint you. This includes the people you love dearly. Recognize their faults, forgive them if you can, and move on. It's going to happen, so don't be surprised when it does. Shock makes things worse.

2. The people you love will leave you. Whether this is of their own volition or the result of an act of gawd, it will happen. They will leave. You will cope.

3. Disaster and tragedy will strike. You may walk away with barely a scratch, you may break a bone or suffer a permanent injury, or you may develop a lifelong complex about faulty electrical wiring. (Oh, was that just me?)

One more lesson: despite all the setbacks and disappointments, you will hope for better. You will expect the next situation to be an improvement upon the last. This crazy optimism is, in my opinion, the essence of being human. At the risk of oversimplifying a complex situation, every human has two choices: to suck it up, or to pack it in. You live, or you don't.

If you are alive, you are a survivor.

(Happier, fluffier, sunnier topics are to come.)