Hedgehog Spikes & Long-Legged Snipes

It snowed! Not our usual heavy onslaught, but light, delicate flakes that landed softly on every surface. I love this type of snow. The flakes nestled in the dried spokes of this bronze fennel plant, showing off their amazing and varied designs.

Light, feathery snowflakes filled this Rose of Sharon seedpod...

...and coated this pine bough.

I played around with Photoshop in an attempt to get more of a contrast, and liked this outcome, which doesn't give a nice contrast but does convey, a bit, the frozen feeling in my fingers when I was outside taking photos!

By the next day, the wind had carried away most of the snowflakes, but it was cold enough for a hard frost. Hoarfrost is formed in very cold temperatures when a source of water vapor is nearby. It adorned this marigold seed pod like a spiky hat.

Cold weather outside means bored cats inside! Everyone was yawning yesterday, stuck inside with a slight case of cabin fever.

Thankfully, a big box arrived from Emma Bridgewater. My mugs are here! They are really amazing.

These are Jack Snipes, secretive birds that have a mating call similar to the sound of a neighing horse. Listen for yourself!

Snipe Call

Bitterns are funny-looking birds that live in wetland areas. They use their long, pointed beaks to catch insects and small fish.

Waxwings are beautiful birds whose feathers are so soft and downy, they almost look like fur. They're so named for the colored tips of their wing feathers, which resemble sealing wax. They have a unique courtship ritual, in which the male and female pass a bit of fruit back and forth until the female decides to accept the male.

These are male pheasants. The females are brown and plain; only the males have bright plumage. They live in open grasslands and are frequently hunted for sport.

The red grouse is another game bird found primarily in Great Britain. They're a bit dumpy, but I think they look quite arresting with their rusty feathers and large feet.

My favorite is the great bustard. They remind me of a young English courtier in years gone by...strutting, with plumage fanned and a bit of a ruff at the neck. These are large birds, with a wing span of up to 8 feet. The largest recorded great bustard was almost 50 pounds! They have a loud, guttural call:

Great Bustard sound

When not admiring my mugs, I've been working on my sock yarn blanket. It's grown significantly. I've almost completed my fifth row!

Every diamond is different. I haven't yet begun to repeat colors although I will soon. Some people have blankets consisting of over 1,000 squares! When you consider that each square takes about 30 minutes and costs around $1 (if you're buying pre-measured "sock yarn mini skeins" and not using leftover sock yarn), it's a considerable undertaking. I'm making mine on the cheap. Each square only takes about 2.5 grams of sock yarn, and I've got enough bits and pieces to go much farther without having to purchase more yarn bits. Most of my yarn has been acquired through swaps, or gifted to me from another knitter.

It's really easy to make, if anyone is interested. You can make your squares as big or small as you'd like. For this particular pattern:

Cast on 31 stitches.
Turn your work and knit one row.
Turn your work again. You're facing the wrong side. Slip one, knit 13, PSSO (slip 2, knit one, and slip 2 slipped stitches over the knit stitch), knit to the last stitch, knit last stitch through the back loop.
Knit your right-side row, slipping the first stitch and knitting the last stitch through the back loop. When you come to the center stitch, slip it! If you have trouble finding it, just look on the front side - it's the stitch that remains after your PSSO.
Repeat, knitting each side until you come to the center, and then either slip or PSSO (depending on which side you're working on), until you have just 1 stitch left. Draw your yarn through, secure, and weave in ends.

I've really been on a baking kick lately. I'm excited to expand my horizons in the kitchen in 2011. Here's a sweet, spicy offering from Deb at Smitten Kitchen that was quickly devoured and praised by every recipient.

Applesauce Spice Cupcakes
From Smitten Kitchen
Makes 18 cupcakes

Cake
2 cups white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

Frosting
5 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each egg, and then beat in applesauce. Stir in flour mixture and mix until just combined. Spoon into greased muffin tins. The batter looks a little funny, but don't worry!

They bake up nicely. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes and cool on wire rack.

For frosting, beat together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla. Mix in cinnamon and powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

I was originally going to frost mine the "regular" way, but I stumbled across an old Wilton tip and decided to try something new. I topped the cupcake with several small points.

I liked the way it looked. Before I knew it, I'd decorated the whole batch!

They remind me of little hedgehogs. The cake is spicy and dense, more muffin than traditional cupcake, but they're sweet and tasty, and I'll definitely be making them again.

Enjoy!

Hats Off to Whoopie Pies!

Is it only March that can come "in like a lion"? Our New Year roared in with a sudden heat wave...from 20 degrees to 60 degrees in just a day. The snow melted, and all the little creatures came out to forage. This fat squirrel waddled over to my viburnum bushes to nibble on the tender buds.

I was able to do a little yard work, pulling up old, dry flower stalks and tidying up the garden. I didn't see any hibernating insects in the gnarled roots, but I did turn up one stunned earthworm, who slowly, methodically worked its way back into the soil.

January means sale time at my favorite pottery store, Emma Bridgewater in England. Their pottery is all hand-decorated and the quality is second to none. I can't afford to buy a set of her dishes, unfortunately, but I wait every year for her "Second Hand Sale" and shop with a little less
guilt. My new favorite is her "Birds of Britain" collection. With my recent order, I now have 12 mugs, and love them all.

On the home front, Tabitha is broadening her horizons. She's learned to jump up onto the window sill in order to watch the birds at the feeders...

...and she's discovered the small screened-in opening on our front porch. She spends a lot of time there, nose to the screen.

What an inquisitive girl she is!

I finished up the last of my gift knitting for the year with this small slouchy hat, made for a friend's daughter. The pattern is Ripley by Ysolda Teague. It was easy to modify this pattern for a child...I just went down 2 needle sizes. It's a clever pattern, with an old-fashioned lace brim and a gathering of fabric at the name of the neck.

I have an adult-sized one for myself and I'm quite fond of it!

I'd been hesitating to start a particular knitting project. I never want to feel afraid to try new knitting techniques, but sometimes I do feel overwhelmed, especially with no one here to help me. I rely a lot on youtube videos and Ravelry.com for support, and I practice, practice, practice. I wanted to start on another pair of toe-up socks this week. I remember how I used to avoid patterns with this style, and I'm glad I was able to teach myself, although it's still awkward. This youtube video by Cat Bordhi was a big help.

First, drape your yarn...

Then, using a modified long-tail cast on, you'll pick up wraps with your left and right needle until you've got enough stitches on your needles, like this:

You can see the little purl bumps that formed on the other side of your wraps.

Next, you'll knit up and down these two needles, increasing as needed, in a circular pattern until you have the specified number of stitches. Now you can really see the toe forming. I always end up with my purl bumps on the OUTSIDE instead of the inside, but it's just one row and I don't mind a toe made this way.

Here's the inside of the toe.

Many patterns for toe-up socks call for the Magic Loop method, which uses one long circular needle or two smaller circular needles. I prefer using double-pointed needles, so I just mark either side of my toe with a stitch marker to keep my place. I work in additional needles as the toe grows, until it's completed, and you're ready to move on to the foot:

I really enjoy learning these new techniques. I'll check back as I inch toward the heels!

I read many different food blogs, and lately I've noticed a trend toward indulgence. Many dessert blogs boast of their use of real butter in recipes, with lots of white sugar and egg yolks. I've shuddered, reading about cupcake recipes that call for two sticks of butter and heaping cups of sugar, topped with buttercream frosting made of additional sticks of butter and cups of sugar. To those of you who can eat this way and still roll yourself out of bed in the morning, I applaud and envy you. I personally have to continue to seeks ways to lighten old favorites so that I can enjoy the taste, but not live life in a constant sugar coma.

Which brings me to a new recipe. I read about Lemon Whoopie Pies on Joy the Baker's excellent website, and was intrigued. I was less enthusiastic about the thought of consuming 2 sticks of butter and a total of 3 3/4 cups of sugar, so I made some modifications and I'm really pleased with the result.

Modified Lemon Whoopie Pies
Adapted from Joy the Baker
Makes 24 pies

Cookies
1 1/2 cups white flour (all purpose)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 egg white
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk (skim)

Filling
1 block (12 ounces) neufchatel cheese
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 - 3 teaspoons lemon juice (to taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside. In a separate bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and lemon zest until smooth. Add egg white, lemon juice, and vanilla and mix well. Slowly blend in half of the flour mixture, and then add your buttermilk. If you don't have any on hand, it's easy to make: 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 teaspoon vinegar (let it sit for 5 minutes to curdle). Finally, add the rest of the flour mixture and incorporate.

I originally had planned to use the cookie cutters my sister-in-law had given me for Christmas to make tiny, dainty circles, but this batter is much too sticky. I settled for dropping 1/2 teaspoon of dough onto a greased cookie sheet, and baked for about 8 minutes.

I still expected little dainty circles, but the resulting cookies were fairly substantial. They definitely had character.

I cooled them on wire racks for about 1o minutes while I prepared the filling, which was simple: I dumped all ingredients in my KitchenAid and mixed until fully incorporated. Easy! Then I turned over my cookies to prepare for filling.

I put a generous dollop of filling in each cookie and then smooshed them together to make a little whoopie pie.

They were perfect! Soft and chewy, with a crispy rim. The lemon flavor is very subtle, and the sweetness is not overpowering. I'm really pleased with these...and this recipe makes 24 whoopie pies, which means that I won't have to worry about dessert for a while!

I hope you give them a try.

Enjoy!