Knitter in the Kitchen

Recipe found here on a lovely, new-to-me food blog.

:: Modifications — used 3 eggs instead of 2, entire bunch of green onions, and 1 cup frozen peas in place of spinach. This made a speedy and delicious lunch!

My good friend Ruth tagged me for the Rockin’ Girl Blogger award (thanks Ruth!), and I would like to give the same award to the following five amazing ladies:

1. Joyce — We met online just over a year ago, right before she was about to give birth to her daughter Ava. Joyce takes amazing photos and is very creative and talented in all of her crafting. She is also really generous — she taught me how to sew zippered pouches by sending me a photo tutorial, and she has gifted me with several lovely books.

2. Elise — If you have read my blog for awhile, you might notice that I get a number of delicious recipes from Simply Recipes. They are clearly written, and literally every single one I’ve tried has turned out well. I’ve cooked more dishes from Simply Recipes than from any other single resource. Elise always patiently answers my questions (sometimes dumb ones!) over comments and emails. I am very grateful for Elise and her excellent website.

3. Ari — I’ve only been reading Baking and Books for several months, but Ari is such a source of culinary inspiration for me. She experiments with new dishes regularly across various different cuisines, and I drool over photos of her baked goods. Ari also posts great interviews with famous cookbook authors!

4. Esther — This sock-knitting queen knits gorgeous socks as gifts — I wish I were as generous as she is about giving away handknits. We share similar interests in cooking and baking, and I always enjoy chatting with her over email about those topics. Esther has been busy with the bar exam lately, and I hope it went well for her!

5. Erin — I am always in awe of Erin’s stunning lace shawls. She is really, really good at knitting them and very patient with fixing any mistakes. She can also read Japanese knitting and crochet patterns and creates beautiful pieces of knitwear.

For months, I had been drooling over the beautiful handmade ceramics created by Linda of Little Flower Designs.  I loved all the items in her shop – if I could, I would have purchased one of everything.  After looking, looking, and more looking, I finally custom-ordered the “Just Friends” mug and wall tile.  They are lovely works of art that brighten up my day and room.  Linda is gearing up for a huge shop update, and I believe the mugs will be available on her website at that time.

The Swedish Visiting Cake was another stellar recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking: From My Home to Yours.

The main flavors are almond and lemon. This was a super easy, very quick one-bowl recipe that resulted in a wonderfully delicious cake.  I can definitely see myself baking this cake over and over again.  You can find the recipe here on Dorie’s blog.

Ever since I purchased Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking: From My Home to Yours, I have pored over the recipes and drooled over the lovely photos.  The recipe introductions are written in a chatty and personal tone, and the instructions themselves are very specific and clear.  I could spend many more enjoyable hours reading through this book.

For a birthday dinner this weekend, I decided to bake the Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes from Dorie’s book.

As I unmolded the cupcakes from the muffin tins, I noticed that they were a lot darker than the ones shown in the recipe photo.  I pondered this for awhile…and then it dawned on me.  I was supposed to melt two ounces of bittersweet chocolate for the batter and three ounces of it for the frosting…did I mix up the measurements?  Yup.  But fortunately, the cupcakes still turned out just fine!

This is an excellent recipe — simple yet delicious.  Two thumbs up for sure!  If you have this book and you like chocolate, I highly recommend trying these cupcakes.

Stay tuned for another Dorie recipe review later in the week!