Author: tabitha

Crocked Again

The crock pot adventure continues.

Last week, I tried Smoked Sausage and Bean Stew from the Crockpot 365 blog. I found it to be quite delicious even though I substituted veggie broth. The recipe was filled with yummy veggies and I didn’t have to stand over the stove or heat up the oven to prepare supper. The recipe made just enough for a good hearty meal with leftovers for lunch the following day.

Last night, I tried another crock pot veggie adventure – ratatouille. My youngest has been nagging me since that movie came out to make ratatouille. I had my doubts about whether he would eat it but a cold with its accompanying sort throat convinced me I wanted comfort food. I have cooked ratatouille the old-fashioned way, but I was curious about how it would work in a crock pot.

After searching diligently for a recipe, I settled on this one. I tinkered with the recipe a little. I used two medium-sized eggplants instead of one large, I sweated the eggplant with salt before adding it to the cooker so it wouldn’t be bitter, I increased the garlic to be closer to the traditional recipes, I used tomato paste instead of fresh tomatoes and I substituted yellow squash for half of the zucchini. I also cooked mine on High for the first hour and stirred the concoction mid-way. The results were as expected, everybody but the kid that has been pestering me to make ratatouille for years liked it. Mr H ate three servings. And with all those veggies and olive oil, it has to be good for you. It was exactly what my cold-infected body wanted. The recipe made enough for a hearty meal and enough leftovers for lunch, though SmallFry will probably be happier with a sandwich. If I make this recipe again, I would probably put the herbs and spices between the two layers instead of on top.

Today, I am going for something SmallFry will eat so the crock pot is already working with a chicken for roasting. To this, I will add his favorite veggies so there will be no tears at the table. I will wait until tomorrow to spring a new recipe on him. 🙂

Holiday Head Start

Yes, I know the temperatures are above 90 and school hasn’t even started back yet but Christmas is only 146 days away. Time to start thinking about that holiday knitting. To help jump start the holiday, I am announcing the Tabitha’s Heart Holiday Head Start Sale. From now until 11:59pm 31st August, for every two patterns you buy, you will receive a third pattern (of equal or lesser value) for free.

Here is how it works. Simply buy two patterns at the same time. To receive your free pattern, you can either leave a comment in the invoice at the time you pay, email me at support AT tabithasheart DOT com or PM me through Ravelry with your choice for free pattern. The free pattern link will be be sent through Ravelry or emailed to you within 24 hours of receipt of payment.

So if you were having trouble trying to decide whether Uncle Bob would prefer a hat or socks, give him both and get shawl pattern for yourself as a bonus.

Happy knitting!

What a Crock

I love the convenience of cooking in a crock pot. I love the feeling of organization that comes from knowing at 9:00am that supper is totally under control. I love that crock cooking doesn’t use a lot of electricity and it doesn’t heat up the house. So what is the problem then?

Most of the recipes that I find are for a big slab of meat covered with some kind of sauce. While this is fine occasionally, we eat more vegetables than meat. So I have trouble finding high-veg crock pot recipes. If you know a great one, I’d love to have you share the recipe.

I am trying one out tonight that is made with dried lima beans and stew veggies. The addition of steak sauce should make it interesting. Sure hope it tastes good. More importantly, I sure hope the kids will eat it. I will give you my review later this week.

Keeping Secrets is Hard

I have been busy knitting away but unfortunately I can’t show you most of what I am working on. The only thing I am working on that I can show you is my Doctor Who scarf.

This is to be a replica of the scarf worn by Tom Baker in his first season as the Doctor. It will eventually be ridiculously long though its current length is just under 4 feet before blocking. I am surprised at how much I like the colors. I was really not expecting it to be so pretty.

The only other photo I can share with you is the product of my kids cooking classes. They decided that they wanted Friday to be Kids Cook night. One of the things they learned in class was how to decorate cakes. Friday night they treated us to this cake:

And it was tasty too.

Two Hats and a Sock

Today I have some new patterns to share with you.

Ailish Hat

Ailish is sweet lace hat with an interchangeable ribbon at the brim. The ribbon can be also used as a drawstring to turn your hat into a cute little bag. It may also be jazzed up with a decorative flower or pin at the top of the brim.

Knit in the round, this is a great project for introducing lace techniques. Pattern is suitable for the advanced beginner or intermediate knitter. Charted and written instructions included.

$5.00

Evan Hat

Evan is a cabled beanie-style hat featuring a wide, ribbed cable repeated around the circumference of the hat and then shifted to the right with subsequent repeats resulting in a spiral effect. The cable ribs are then decreased into points to form the crown of the hat. The pattern is bold enough to stand up to most variegated yarns but also looks fabulous in solid colors. A perfect match for the Evan Sock.

Knit in the round from the brim to the crown. Pattern requires advanced beginner to intermediate skills. You need a good understanding of cables and basic hat construction.

$5.00

Evan Sock

Evan is a simple sock adorned with a wide cable running from the toe to the cuff. The pattern is bold enough to stand up to most variegated yarns but also looks fabulous in solid colors.

The sock is knitted from the toe up and features a clever reverse gusset heel that doesn’t require short row wraps or picking up stitches. Pattern is suitable for the advanced beginner to intermediate knitter. Requires knowledge of basic toe up sock construction (including a toe up cast on) and an understanding of cable techniques. This cable requires two cable needles.

$5.00

The Owen, Evan and Ailish patterns will be available as an ebook collection in September 2010.