EyeKnit

Today's post is brought to you by Infant Tylenol...



Tali has been teething HORRIBLY, and was up most of last night. She is finally asleep (has been for a while, but I was out with her big brother checking out MyGym) so I hopefully have time to type.

Okay. I finished seaming the Circle of Friends blanket. Yes, I had done this before... but I took the whole thing apart because I didn't like the way the seams looked. Maggie at knitting group (hi guys!) helped me figure out the best place to sew, and I am much happier with the result now.



However, the 8,243,062 ends to be woven in may be the death of me.



I am also planning to crochet a border around the edge-- have to play with it a bit to decide plain vs. frilly and whatnot.

In the meantime, after another lovely evening and gourmet meal at Chateau de Jay, I worked on finishing my latest project... the Baby Yoda Sweater. I am risking disruption of the force, and knitting it in Plymouth Sunsette from stash.



Nice, right? It even has my trademark freakishly small sleeves! Excellent.

Okay. Roasted Cauliflower.

This recipe is from my friend Amy-- she's not really a measuring type of person, so it's a bit vague-- but SO good.

Amy: It's cauliflower with olive oil and salt. Use high heat.
Me: A whole cauliflower?
Amy: Definitely. I usually make 2, because I end up eating a lot before it ever gets served. You don't have to use cauliflower. The recipe works for brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, whatever.
Me: I like the cauliflower. How much olive oil? A lot? A little?
Amy: Some. Is that an answer?
Me: No! A cup? A teaspoon?
Amy: I don't know-- how about as much as you would put on if it were salad dressing and you were going to toss the salad?
Me: Okay... maybe. How high is the heat?
Amy: 450. And the key is to make sure it's preheated before you put the cauliflower in. You can't heat the oven while you're cooking this. You could do higher heat if you want.
Me: What temperature do you use?
Amy: 450.
Me: How long do you cook it?
Amy: A while... maybe 20 minutes? Until it's done.

Etcetera.

So, here's my interpretation of Amy's recipe.

Take a cauliflower & break it into florets (flowerettes?)... not huge ones... think bite size... you will want to be able to pick these up with your fingers & pop them into your mouth. Put them in a bowl. Add olive oil & toss it around-- there should be enough to coat all the cauliflower. Add salt. Amy prefers sea salt. Add more than you think. (Amy: after it cooks, you should be able to run your finger through the oil left on the pan & it should taste pleasantly salty). If you don't add enough, you can add regular salt after the fact-- it's still good. Make sure the oven is preheated to 450... put the cauliflower on a baking sheet (Amy: Don't use anything deeper than a baking sheet, because it will steam). Don't stir them while they're in the oven. Cook them until there is a fair amount of dark brown/black on the tips & edges.

My mother-in-law & I made it this weekend-- it's really good. Could be the best cauliflower I've ever tasted. Worth trying. I wish I had taken pictures of it, because then you'd know when it's done...

But, in the absence of cauliflower photos, I will share a photo of my Passover quinoa...



This is why I don't have a cooking blog. Next post-- back to knitting.

Well, okay... since you asked... and since I'm up at 5:20 in the morning with not much else to do (Tali is teething-- did I tell you? She has a tooth! AND, she is working on another one! Hence the sleepless nights...) I will post my recipe for layered dinner! I apologize- I'm sure it's taken from some recipe book somewhere & I am totally posting it without permission-- but I have it copied into my own recipe file without any notes on where it might be from, and am also including my usual modifications.

So anyway...

Layered Dinner (or as Mikki would say "7 Layer Dinner")

4 potatoes, sliced
2 parsnips, sliced (parsnips are a totally underrated vegetable, IMO)
1 large onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 C corn, frozen or fresh (I left this out for Passover)
1 C green peas, frozen or fresh (I left these out too)
Optional: mushrooms, broccoli, green beans etc (I used mushrooms & green beans)

Sauce:
3 C tomato sauce
1/4 C tamari or soy sauce or Bragg's (you could use STRONG veg. broth for Passover modification here)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp basil
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp sage
2 TBS parsley flakes

Layer vegetables in a casserole in given order. Mix ingredients of sauce. Pour over veggies. Bake covered in 350 degree oven for 1.5 hours. (Can also do in crockpot-- takes about 8 hours on low)

That's it. Easy, right? I usually serve with rice mixed with parsley & green onion... but it was really good with the quinoa, and I may make it that way from now on.

Hey-- if you like cooking (or eating), and want to read a fun blog, go see my friend Dan at Casual Kitchen. He's pretty freaking funny, in a Wall Street sort of way.

Ha! Pulled off a Passover seder for 11 people last night-- I even got out our wedding china :)

My vegan Passover menu included:

Seder plate (complete with sacrificial yam and an avocado pit instead of an egg)
Butternut squash soup (hmm... someday I'll come back & fill in all the recipe links)
Layered dinner (like a vegetable stew)
Quinoa side dish (quinoa seems to be this year's trendy Passover food, no?)
Mashed sweet potatoes
Roasted cauliflower (could be my new favorite food)
Broccoli-a-la-Jay (yummm... thanks, Jay!)
Uninvited asparagus
Cranberry sauce from a can (Passover cranberry sauce, made with real sugar!)
Not-so-good peach dessert thing
Very good Passover cakes (again, credit goes to Jay)

We did "Sammy Spider's First Haggadah." The children in attendance were cute and charming. It was just quite lovely, if I must say so myself.