Welcome!

Hi! This is my little corner of the web, where I can write about my two favorite things to create-messes and tangles…err I mean, baking and knitting projects.

I also may occasionally post about music (I’m completely tone-deaf, and have the rhythm of a drunken cat, but that doesn’t stop me from singing at the top of my lungs, so I have plenty of song recommendations) and books I read.

You might know me from mine and my best friend’s former blog, Our Kitchen’s Chaos , where I was known as C, warrior of the kitchen and creator of many messes and tasty treats. We’re still causing just as much Chaos, but now that school is coming to an end, it’s a little harder for us to bake in one kitchen.

Whole Wheat Mocha Brownies

Sometimes, mistakes end up being awesome. Last time I went to the store, I accidentally bought whole wheat flour, instead of normal, white flour.  At first, I was like, “Oh, no worries, flour is flour, right?”

In the words of Lex Luthor (youtube it if you don’t know what I mean) WRONG!

The first batch of cookies I made turned out flat and dense. Really, I should have known better. I mean, I’m enough of a baking snob to know the difference between types of salt-I should have known I can’t just close my eyes and pretend that whole wheat flour is the same thing as plain old white flour. It’s Healthier! and Heartier! and a completely different color and texture!

Tempting? Yes.

Luckily for me, (and for you if you decide to make them) I managed to find a few great whole wheat brownie recipes. I blended a few different recipes together to end up with my own.

These have been deemed ” best brownies ever” by my family. They have a rich taste that pairs really well with coffee or ice cream. The instant coffee deepens the chocolate flavor, but if you want, you can reduce the amount used by a teaspoon, you can.

I stand by my belief that no brownie is good unless it has at least a tablespoon of vanilla. (On a side note, as much as I love them, would you agree that those blue-wrapped, white colored Tootsie Rolls taste nothing like vanilla?)

They aren’t molten and fudgey, like other recipes can be, but they have a nice shelf life, and are large enough in height to make a visual impact. If you’re looking for a brownie to mail to someone, these would do the trick perfectly.

This recipe also makes A LOT of brownie goodness. I know a lot of box mixes make a 9×13 pan-full, but this recipe makes very tall, thick brownies in that pan, so overall, there’s more square-footage of brownie goodness.

Recipe follows the break. And, don’t worry. Like all my recipes, I personally taste tested these, taking a very, very small piece from the pan…It was very painful. Oh how I suffer in the name of the baking art.

See How Small a Piece I took?

All This and Knitting Too

First off, this blog title is referencing one of my favorite bands-Florence and the Machine. The song is “All this and Heaven Too.”

Florence and The Machine

I loved their first album, and the second one is even better-to the point where I can’t even pick a favorite song to recommend. The singer, Florence Welch, has an awesome, powerful voice, and the music is full of unexpected, catchy beats and lyrics-did I mention some songs have harps in them? Go listen. Learn the lyrics. Belt them out while cleaning. It’s what all the cool kids (…meaning me) are doing.

Now, on to the knitting. As mentioned in my last post, I was on a little bit of a hat kick this semester.

A Rohan Valentine Hat

Hat Number One was a pattern made by me, using this chart. This hat got called a Rohan Valentine Hat because  the curly heart reminded me of  the embroidery used by in the Lord of The Rings Movies. If you’re not a nerd, feel free to call it something else.

Pattern Close Up

I didn’t write the pattern down in detail-I cast on 100, , with size 8 needles and worsted weight and after about two inches of ribbing, I reduce my stitches down to 95, allowing five repeats of the heart, with one plain stitch of pink on either side. After the pattern, I began my decreases, in the standard, decrease a row, knit a row, for hats.  If you’re a loose knitter, 4 heart repeats(76 stitches) would probably work better.

If you end up making this hat, let me know in the comments! I would love to see it!

Black and Yellow Diamonds

 

Black and Yellow Diamonds, amazingly, had no problems. I followed the pattern, the colors look great together, and it fits. Hooray! I love when a good thing comes together without fuss

Pattern can be found HERE on Ravelry.

Also, don’t stare too long at that pattern-it’ll make you dizzy!

 

 

Simple Snowflakes

Speaking of Ravelry Patterns, I also made  this hat, called, Erik’s Hat- pattern here. I used size six needles, and dk weight yarn, because I am a very tight knitter, and wanted more of a skull-cap hat for this one. I apologize for the picture quality I had gotten a little lazy with laying the hats flat by the time it was this guy’s turn in the spotlight.

Whew! So are you sick of hats? Are you rocking out to Florence and the Machine? Are you going to leave me awesome comments?

(The answer to all those is yes, by the way.)

 

I promise the next post will not be about hats…and may not even be about knitting. Shock!

All Together Now!

In Which I Become a Mad Hatter

So these next few posts are going to be a little outdated-I had every intention of blogging in the last few months, but things just got way too hectic, (you know, Vampire Diaries to watch, books to read, coffee to drink… Very busy months, I assure you.)

Oh, Hello, Distraction

But the good news is I did take pictures and notes on my projects, so now that I have time, (ie managed to finish watching two and a half seasons of vampire hi-jinks in two months) I can blog about them. And by projects, I mean Hats. At least, mostly.

I’ve been trying to make hats for the past six months, after I got bored of just knitting scarves and blankets-er-blanket. (There was only one. Too much tedious knitting for another anytime soon.) However, the skills required to make awesome hats-namely, knitting in the round, and using devil double pointed needles, had escaped me.  All I could do was make basic seamed hats.

My thoughts on most seamed hats.

1. They are so much more work, since you have to knit a row, purl a row to get stockinette.

2. They involve more “Off the needles, but not home free yet” time. And I HATE that. I really like how if you knit a hat in the round, it takes two seconds to finish it up, and then you’re ready to stick it on your head and do a victory dance.

3. I’m still not the best seam sew-er (a literal seamstress) , so I get an ugly line on the back of my hats.

And you can’t try them on while in progress. Seriously, I try on hats while they are still on my circular needles at least eight times.

Then I met the awesome ladies of EMBRACEABLE EWE who taught me how to connect the circular cast on stitches without twisting, and not to fear DPNS. And, in the words of Aladdin, there was suddenly a whole new world for me!

Kinda Like This...Except Not

Yarn Reviews

So these are the ramblings of a student during finals week. I haven’t had much time or energy to actually work on any knitting projects-with ten thousand assignments due, and massive exams right around the corner, I feel guilty taking any time off from my flashcards.

That doesn’t stop me from blogging, though!

So, I thought I’d talk about yarn. The day I learned to knit, I mentioned how great it would be to have my scarf done, because then I wouldn’t have all this yarn sitting around.  (Mind you, “all this yarn” was one additional skein.) The woman teaching me laughed, and said, “The day you become a true knitter is the day when you have more yarn than you know what to do with.”

Well, it took a bit of time, but I finally managed to build a yarn stockpile.

Tada!

It took me six months, after I learned how to knit, to discover Local Yarn Stores, (LYS’s). Then, I visited Bella Filati in Southern Pines, North Carolina and my world was changed.   I was so amazed at all the colors, textures,  and types yarn. Before then, I had been shopping at a small craft store, where they really only offered sock yarn and worsted weight. Now, I had so many options, so many project ideas!

At Bella Filati, I purchased a skein of beautiful, soft red yarn. I am still so in love with that yarn that I have yet to make a project with it, as I’m afraid it won’t do the yarn justice….I’ll probably have that skein until the end of days.

It wasn’t until the summer, though, when my yarn buying truly took off. Embraceable Ewe , in Hamburg, NY. (Near Buffalo, not near NYC,) was the LYS that fed my wonderful addiction. I met so many awesome knitters there, who encouraged me to try knitting all sorts of projects, including my first sweater! 

 

 

Now,I have a yarn stash, as I’m sure any knitters reading this blog do, as well.

 

Some highlights:

Berroco Peruvia® Quick-This makes an awesome winter scarf or hat. It’s warm, without being too scratchy or itchy. There are also a lot of nice subdued winter shades, that match anyone’s coats.  I’m on my third project with this yarn.

Cascade Yarns Baby Alpaca Chunky-Confession, I haven’t ever knit with this yarn. I drool over its texture and warmth in stores, but I’ve never managed to find a pattern and color combination that I really liked. It’s on my someday list.

Knit Picks City Tweed DK® – So, so soft. Knitting with it is a joy-it’s so smooth and comfy. Perfect for mittens or gloves or a cardigan, if you have the patience.

Classic Elite Sprout-This is a fun, organic cotton yarn. I used it for decorative dishtowels, but I’ve also seen really cute summer sweaters, (Is that phrase an oxymoron? Not when you knit!) made from it.

Berroco Soufflé™- Love. Love. Love. (although, much like the mystery red yarn above, I have yet to decide on a project) It’s big and fluffy, and surprisingly light weight. The day I stop being a broke college student, I am knitting a whole blanket out of this yarn.

Stay tuned for more yarn reviews!

Mudslide Cookies

In honor of the beginning of this blog recording my kitchen and knitting escapades, I thought I would start with a recipe that was the favorite of my knitting group this summer: Mudslide cookies.

Mudslide Cookies

 

2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

One dash cinnamon (less than ¼ teasppon)

2 3/4 tablespoons instant coffee powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter, melted and cooled for 10-15 minutes

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature.

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup Godiva chocolate liquor or Kahlua (the latter gives it a stronger coffee taste)

1 cup white chocolate chunks

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate, chopped

Sift together flour, cocoa, coffee powder, salt and baking soda and set aside.

 

In another bowl, mix the melted butter and sugars until they are combined, about 2 minutes with an electric mixer. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until blended, (less than a minute,). Stream in coffee liqueur and mix. Gradually add flour and mix until a dough forms – it will look crumbly at first, but it will come together. If it is still crumbly, add a little more liquor.

Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped chocolate.

Refrigerate dough for 2-3 hours or overnight

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

 

Remove dough from the fridge and roll into large balls (slightly smaller than a golfball). Set on a non-stick baking sheet , or pan with parchment paper, making sure to leave room. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until the edges are set and the middles are still soft. The centers should be puffy, so they might look slightly underdone.. Do not over bake.