Hot Diggety!

I've been blogged about! And in a very nice way. :)

http://christopherandtia.blogspot.com/2009/09/lemon-pound-cake-yumm.html

Apple Harvest Time!

September makes me think of apples, especially when the weather starts cooling down as it has here. Every fall, our extended family gathers for a trip to Missouri apple country to stock up for the winter. We get not only apples but also apple butter; I think my brother-in-law got a whole case of jars last year! When my children were smaller, we'd often team up with other home schoolers and go apple picking at a local orchard. My husband and I would also round up the kids each fall and go to a local apple cider mill to watch the machines in action and feast on apple cider doughnuts. I hope we were making some special memories for our children; I know I certainly look back on those trips with fondness!

When I was a teacher, I got a lot of apple-themed gifts from students. So I eventually decided to decorate my kitchen with an apple motif. My husband is a career teacher, so he still gets apple goodies! We're apple crazy around here. :)

Now I'm in the mood for some yummy apple recipes. Before I became a candle maker, I used to can my own apple butter. Fortunately, my teenaged son still cans his homemade apple sauce. Here are some good looking apple recipes I found. http://www.bestapples.com/recipes/index.shtml

Dairy-Free Fruit Smoothies

I love dairy, but it hates me! So I make dairy-free fruit smoothies to get my fruit servings for the day!

1 cup fruit juice - apple, orange, or your favorite
1 small banana
1 cup frozen mixed fruit (strawberries, peaches, etc.) - I don't actually measure; I just toss in a handful or two.

Whir it all in a blender and enjoy. Simple!

Summer Bounty Pasta

My daughter and I love to experiment with food, especially when presented with a bounty of summer garden crops! Today she cooked whole wheat pasta, chopped up some fresh veggies from our garden, then tossed it all with a little dressing, piling grilled chicken strips on top. Delish meal, and not too stuffy for warm weather eating! Here's what we used.

13 oz. whole wheat pasta, cooked al dente and drained, then rinsed in cold water
1 medium zucchini, sliced
2 bell peppers, diced
4-5 small Roma tomatoes, diced
salt to taste
Kraft Cucumber Ranch dressing to taste
boneless, skinless grilled chicken strips on top (1/2 breast per person satisfies us)

Hearty enough to satisfy; light enough to not feel stuffed!

Good News, Bad News

Hurrah! I'm CELEBRATING! I hit a milestone in my Etsy shop yesterday. I hit my 1,000th sale! I've been hoping for that for over a year, so I'm happy. Now off to work on that next hundred. :)

In the bad news department, my 18 year old son got a hankering to bake a cake from scratch last night. Found an awesome recipe for a Maple Syrup Cake online. Frosted it with thick, butter-rich frosting, then topped it with pecans. GAH. Bad news is I will probably eat 4/5 of it and gain 5 lbs. GAH. It's TO DIE FOR!!

Oh, and don't forget to enter KC Etsy Team's Countdown to Christmas - Great Blog Giveaway! The team is giving away awesome prizes every week until December. This team is seriously loaded with talent! This week, you can win fun free lip balm, and who doesn't need that? You'll want to check the blog weekly to see what great goodies we've got planned. I'm excited about the giveaway! http://kcetsy.blogspot.com/

SUPER SALE! CLEAR THE COTTAGE!

"CLEAR THE COTTAGE" CLEARANCE SALE! AMAZING, UNBEATABLE LOW PRICES!! Candles for only $5.95! See my special clearance section: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5343490&section_id=6321674

NEW FOR FALL! Tons of yummy new candles for fall! Check 'em out! http://www.etsy.com/search_results_shop.php?search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_5343490&search_query=NEW

Knitting vs. Crocheting

I absolutely adore self-striping cotton yarns! Been experimenting with them lately, so I decided to try making two dishclothes using the same skein, but knitting one and crocheting the other. This way, it's easy to observe the differences in appearance and texture.

The knit is on bottom left, and the crocheted is to the right and top of the picture. Knitting with size 8 needles in stockinette stitch produced a lighter weight, thinner dishcloth, but with a tighter weave. The crocheted version is chunkier but with more spaces between stitches; I made it with a G hook and used just single crochet and chain stitches.

I thought maybe this can help someone who's contemplating a project, or for someone who may be trying to decide between learning to knit or crochet. I love to do both, so don't ask for an opinion about which is better! The honest answer is that it depends on the look I'm going for and the speed required to complete the process; I take longer to knit an item than I do to crochet an item that's the same size.