Skinny Knit Tie

Another handmade gift for Tim: a skinny knitted necktie. 

All the cool kids are rocking knitted neckties these days and Tim wanted in on the action.  I stepped up to the plate to fulfill that wish, but I think I was only mildly successful for a number of reasons, so I'll have to give this tie a big ole "meh."

The good: color, shape, seed stitch texture.  The bad: the yarn feel, the stretchiness.

I generally followed this pattern from Lion Brand yarn, but made the following changes:

• I used size 3 needles and this Japanese fingering weight acrylic yarn I found at the local craft store (I can't imagine using the aran weight yarn and size 8 needles the pattern calls for! I would have ended up with a bib, not a tie with yarn that thick!)
• I did three sets of decreases and no increases, leaving the tie tail nice and thin so it could hide behind the main part of the tie.  
• I made the tie 58" long, holding it up against one of Tim's other ties to get the proper length.
• I sewed in a small tie clip/label thingy on the back to hold the tail in.

In the end, I think it looks pretty cute, but it's impossible to tie because it's far too stretchy.  It gets really bent out of shape and stretched out, so I may have to frog the whole thing.  It looks like many of the ties available at stores are made from silk or wool, which is probably much less stretchy than the yarn I worked with.  Sigh. Try, try again.

Baby Kimono: Meh.

Not gonna lie or sugarcoat it... I hate this yarn. 

I had purchased a couple of skeins a long time ago, before I was really all that into or knowledgeable about knitting and crocheting (not that I am particularly knowledgeable now, but I think I now know enough not to buy yarn like this).  I crocheted a lumpy and meh (in retrospect) scarf with the first skein and now I've knit a lumpy and meh baby kimono with the second.  

Sigh.  At least it was a quick and easy knit and I didn't spend too long on an inferior project.  The pattern itself seems fine- it's knit in one big piece and then seamed up the sides and under the armpits.  I blame it on the yarn... I don't like how the yarn is squeaky (must be the acrylic), splitty, lumpy and weird to both knit and crochet with.  The final product is just general misshapen and odd... hopefully it looks better on, but it has little hanger appeal.

Compost Cookies: Meh.

Remember when I made that addictive and delicious crack pie based on the Momofuku Milk Bar delight? I loved the combination of sweet and salty so much, so I decided to take a crack (har har) at making another recipe from the Milk Bar: compost cookies. These cookies looked awesome: a compost-like combination of traditional sweet baking items (chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, etc.) and salty snacks (potato chips, pretzels, etc.). The recipe also uses a funky, non-traditional method for making the batter than involves creaming the butter, sugar and eggs together for over 10 minutes.Sadly, while the unbaked dough was to die for, I can't say I'm super excited about how the cookies came out. The were super flat, despite the fact that I refrigerated the dough as the recipe suggested. They were also super greasy when baked... maybe due to the added grease from the potato chips? Finally, they were just too big... 6 ounces of dough makes a cookie that is literally bigger than the plate I wanted to put it on.

I think I may try the recipe again, and make the following changes in the hopes that the final product lives up to the hype: for my salty snacks, add fewer greasy potato chips and supplement with some pretzels, skip the extra long creaming process, and make the cookies half the size.

Happy Blogiversary! Pumpkin Brioche, Meh.

So this past week was my 2-year blogiversary... two years of trying new recipes, crafting like crazy, and sharing the results with friends.
My first blog post back in February of 2009 was the lovely braided challah from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, so, to celebrate, I thought I'd make another sweet bread recipe from their newer book, Healthy Breads in Five Minutes a Day: pumpkin brioche.

Sadly, although I have nothing but raves for the challah, the pumpkin brioche only gets a "meh" from me. My issue with the bread is not with the flavor, but with the texture. It is a yeast bread, so I was expecting it to be fairly light, but it came out pretty dense- not much different than a pumpkin quick bread. When I made french toast with it the next day, it was almost overwhelmingly heavy. Oh well!

Linguine with Brussel Sprouts and Bacon: Meh

I love brussel sprouts. However, I have discovered that I think I only really love them one way: roasted.

This pasta recipe calls for the brussel sprouts to be sauteed/steamed in a pan prior to throwing them on pasta with crunchy bacon. Sounds good in theory, but in practice, meh. Steaming/sauteeing brussel sprouts just doesn't give them the caramelization and crispiness that oven-roasting does. It just makes them limp and kinda stinky.

Lesson learned.

Cantaloupe Sherbet: Meh.

The flavors of this cantaloupe sherbet were really tasty: creamy, fruity, a hint o' lime. However, the texture was off-putting- lots of little bits of cantaloupe took away from the smoothness you want from a sherbet... I give this recipe a resounding "Meh." Maybe if I'd run the cantaloupe puree through a seive or chinois before mixing it with the cream and freezing it, it wouldn't be as weird?

Broccoli Pesto: Meh

Hmmm... I wanted to like this broccoli pesto. It had all of my favorite stinky foods- broccoli, olives, garlic, goat cheese- yet I was not a fan for some reason. It was kinda thick and overwhelming... not enough variation in texture, perhaps?

Chuck totally wasn't fooled by the fact that the olives were all chopped up, either. She hated it. Oh well.

Blueberry Pierogis... Meh

As I promised, I tried to make some blueberry pierogis using this epicurious.com recipe for the dough. I can't remember where I had them as a kid, but I remember them tasting really good. The ones I made this past weekend... not as good. They were fine, but a little bland, and the dough was excessively chewy.

I stuffed them, boiled them, and then pan-fried them in some butter. Served with sour cream.

Butter-braised Turnips = Double Meh

I thought that the method of preparation might make up for the fact that I'm not enamored of turnips thus far... butter-braised? Seemed like a winner, but again, no dice. Meh. I just think I just plain don't like turnips, officially.

Asian Dumpling Soup = Meh.

Made this soup to use some cabbage, garlic greens and mushrooms from the CSA. Meh.

We spiced it up a bunch with soy sauce, ginger, and Sriracha, but no dice. Still meh.