Tons of Tees and Tanks

More versions of Grainline Studio's Scout Tee and Tiny Pocket Tank...  I have gotten my money out of these patterns (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here).  These are mostly Christmas gifts, but I snuck one in there for myself, too, while I was at it.

These two are made from the same piece of beautiful batik I found.  I love how it has a geometric background overlaid with a floral print.  Also, I have rarely seen batik made mainly in black, so I dig this one:

I like how this pink batik is super simple and bright:

This ikat from Bali is awesome- I love all the colors incorporated into it:

An finally this traditional navy and white patterned batik tee... cute!

Peppermint Meringue Brownie Cake

The peppermint streak continues!

After seeing this recipe for peppermint meringue brownie cake both in the last ever (tears!) issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine and in the blog The Bitten Word, I had to give it a try.  I also had egg whites leftover from my peppermint ice cream from last week... kismit?  Maybe.
 

This recipe really is pretty simple, but looks pretty fancy.  Brownies and meringue.  Neither is too hard... Plus I got to use my peppermint extract (carried across the world by Meghan and Liz) as well as my cream of tartar (carried across the southern hemisphere from Sydney by yours truly).

 

I like how the brownie is dense and rich and then the meringue is light and both marshmallow-y and crispy.  Awesomesauce.

Peppermint Ice Cream

I have been going a little bit Christmas crazy in my head for some reason this year... purposefully listening to Christmas music (not something I normally do), repeatedly viewing this gem featuring Jimmy Fallon, Mariah Carey and the Roots (love it), craving cookies (trying not to eat them), trying to convince Tim to sit on Indonesian Santa's lap for a photo opp at our local mall (unsuccessfully)...  not sure what it is.  Perhaps the anticipation of being in the U.S. for the first time in 14 months?

Anywho, I've been craving creamy pink, pepperminty, candy caney ice cream- the kind with the little candy bits in it. I found some candy canes here in Jakarta, have some peppermint extract that Meghan and Liz brought me back when they visited, and found a recipe from sources I trust (Simply Recipes using a David Lebovitz technique), so I had a go at it.  

Peppermint cce cream: success. Creamy, minty and awesome with chocolate sauce.  Can't wait to try it sandwiched between some chewy chocolate cookies.

Candy canes: FAIL.  Like many "western" things here in Jakarta, those candy canes were Not Quite Right (NQR, my most frequently used acronym these days).  Luckily I tasted them before adding them to the ice cream, because they were most definitely not peppermint flavored, despite their peppermint look.  Strawberry, perhaps?  Whatever flavor, it was gross, so these will be show candy canes, never to be eaten.  Sigh.

Romperoo

Another day, another baby romper.  This one made from some awesome yellow and multicolored striped seersucker from the Real Martha, made from the same pattern as the blue striped one I made a few months ago, Butterick B5625.  

I made it in this gender-neutral fabric for Baby Dos, because until I checked Facebook this morning, it wasn't clear that Baby Dos was a girl.  She'll probably get all of Zoe's hand-me-downs, but here's a start for her own personal wardrobe.

Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies

This past Saturday was Tony's pot-luck holiday party.  With his famous Key Lime Pie already on the menu, we were trying to decide on another dessert to bring.  Pinterest strikes again! And Tony thinks it's a useless website, tsk tsk.  Well moments later I found  this recipe.  With some help from my ass groove Tony was able to make some damn tasty brownies!

Creamy Pesto Parmesan Salad Dressing

I had a bunch of leftover homemade basil/cilantro/almond pesto that needed to be used up as well as a craving for a salad.  Did some Googling and came up with this creamy pesto parmesan salad dressing recipe that looked pretty good.  Apparently it's based on a well-loved and much sought-after recipe from the Old Spaghetti Factory.  I've never been to that restaurant, but the dressing sounded pretty nice.  

I put my own twist on it as follows, upping the pesto quantity and subbing in yogurt for the sour cream.  I like how it turned out- tangy, herby and a hint of cheesey. 

Creamy Pesto Parmesan Dressing

Adapted from SavorySweetLife.com

1/4 C plain, unsweetened yogurt

1/4 C mayonnaise

1/4 buttermilk (I mixed milk with a teaspoon of lime juice)

1 TBS finely grated parmesan

3 TBS pesto

Freshly grated black pepper

Mix, chill and pour over salad!

Wristers: Knit Your Bit!

 My latest knitting project: tubes with holes.

They don't look like much, but they're a big accomplishment for me... I used double-pointed needles (really tiny ones at that: size 2!) for the whole project, so new skills are being mastered.

Colleen (who is my number one blog reader/commenter/fan) sent me a skein of this pretty, self-striping sock yarn (Patons Kroy Socks FX in Cascade Colors) with no instructions for its use, so I made her something with it. Gloves were still a little bit out of my comfort zone and I wasn't sure there was enough yarn for socks.  But fingerless gloves?  Don't mind if I do.  Good for texting, right?

I used this super easy pattern (k3, p2 in the round until the thumb hole, then work flat for a bit, then in the round again for the hand part) that has a super interesting back story.   Apparently back in the day, during World War I (and again during WWII), the American Red Cross provided yarn and instructions for Americans to knit socks, gloves, scarves, hats, vests and other warm things for service men and women to wear while on duty in freezing cold Europe.  There was even knitting propaganda: Our Boys Need Sox. Knit Your Bit.

Pretty interesting!  Hopefully she likes them!