Recipe from the June 2008 issue of Everyday Food. Sadly, I wasn’t too impressed with this one as Hubby and I thought that the bars were much too sweet. I actually cut them smaller than recommended (20 bars instead of 16 from an 8×8 baking dish) and I still couldn’t finish one small bar in the same sitting. These aren’t even much less work than my usual lemon bars, so I am definitely going back to those yummy ones!

Pattern: Dolores Park Cowl
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted, Colorway 179 Black Forest, less than 1 skein
Needles: US #8 / 16″
Modifications: Followed the mods found here to use Malabrigo Worsted instead of Chunky.

Believe it or not, this was my first time knitting with Malabrigo. I’ve had it in my stash before, but for some reason or another I always destashed it. Apparently I’ve been missing out, because it is super soft and I loved knitting with it! I’ve used Manos del Uruguay a few times, and now I know that I like Malabrigo much, much more. The Black Forest colorway isn’t one that I would have selected if Parikha hadn’t used it in her pattern, but I’m glad I went with it because I like the various shades of brown.

A skein of Yarn Pirate Merino/Tencel sock yarn in “I Want Candy”, a box of delicious wafers, and a set of her super cool stretch stitch markers which you find in her Etsy shop.

Thank you for your generosity, Orinda!

Pattern: Gloria Cowl
Yarn: Hand Maiden Casbah Sock in Peridot (held double)
Needles: US #9 / 16″
Modifications: 81 stitches around instead of 99. 5 rounds of seed stitch instead of 3.

I don’t think cowls get much easier than this! A few rounds of seed stitch at the beginning and end with nothing but stockinette in the middle. Perfect for social knitting. Simple yet elegant, and a great way to use luxurious sock yarn. Thanks for the pattern, Orinda! This was my first experience with Hand Maiden Casbah Sock, and it knits up very well. I had to fight with the hank for awhile because of tangles, but the end result was well worth the effort.

I already have another Gloria Cowl on the needles, but some other patterns I’m looking at are Sherbrooke, Dolores Park Cowl, and Ilean (all Rav links). If you have other cowl pattern suggestions, please send them my way!

Pattern: Birthday Cowl
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy, In Vino Veritas, less than 1 skein
Needles: US #8 / 16″
Thoughts: The Birthday Cowl is a great (and easy!) pattern. This was my first experience using Dream in Color, and I really like that it has slight variegation without pooling.

Expect to see some more cowls in the weeks ahead! I have already completed a third cowl (yet to be photographed) and I am planning to start a fourth one this weekend…can you tell that I am going cowl crazy over here? And in the midst of 95 degree weather, too!

Recipe found here on Madeline’s Rachael Ray blog. We haven’t quite decided yet whether this one is a keeper or not. The veggies were really yummy, but the pork was on the bland side. Of course, it didn’t help that we totally overcooked it and thus it was tough. Hubby remedied the blandness by dousing the pork in Siracha sauce.

Hubby thought the dish would improve if we used flank steak instead of pork. I think it’s a good idea. However, I am not sure we will ever experiment with that. There was a fair amount of chopping (at least to us) and we haven’t decided yet whether the effort involved in this recipe is worth the end result. It’s good, but it didn’t wow us. If you try it, be careful not to overcook the pork!

Pattern: Cowl of Kindness (Ravelry Link)
Yarn: Claudia Hand Painted Fingering, Crushed Velvet, 2 skeins (doubled)
Needles: US #8 / 16″
Thoughts: Love this quick and fun knit! I definitely see more cowls in the future.

Recipe from Baking Bites. This one is definitely a keeper, as there is minimal effort involved and yet the results are delicious!

Thank you to everyone who participated in my contest! Currently, I have 90 unused balls of yarn in my stash, so Oiyi is the winner with her guess of 89! I was curious about how much sock yarn I have, so I counted them specifically — 39. Which is forty-three percent of my stash! Not all of them are intended for socks — some are for scarves or handwarmers — but still…I don’t think I actually need sock yarn for a looooooooong time!

Recipe from the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook. This was my first time eating Mexican Wedding Cookies so I have no idea what they are “supposed” to taste like, but I thought these were pretty darn good. I love the flavors of the pecans and almond extract as well as the light and airy texture. This recipe has made my Favorite Cookie List as I can’t seem to eat just one! Photo taken by Hubby.