Saturday, October 29, 2011

potato snack tasting: Spanish Tomato Tango


This next flavor of chips is Spanish Tomato Tango produced by Lays in India. I got them at Patel Brother's supermarket. My expectations were pretty low when I got these, but they are much better than the Masala flavor. They are still a lot greasier than what I'm used to, but the flavor is really good. Lightly spiced katsup is the best way to describe it. Prawn cocktail being my favorite flavor, I am very pleased with the stronger and more complex tomato flavor.
A glance at the ingredients reveals that there are a variety of spices in the seasoning that make it really tasty, like cinnamon, capsacum, and ginger. Cinnamon, Brilliant!

I'm not sure where else you can get these, but I know I'll be going back to Patel Bros for more


Next I'll be reviewing Walker's Cheese and Onion Crisps.



Friday, October 28, 2011

Hot pink

On Monday, I finished my first original sweater, set in sleeves and all. The whole process was pretty easy, getting a true gauge swatch was the most difficult part.
Here it is, a cropped sweater with a high neck and set in sleeves. After correcting the gauge confusion, I realized that only two skeins of red hear were needed, dropping the cost down to $6.00. Very reasonable for a custom fit sweater, and the hot pink color kind of makes the cheapness of the acrylic yarn acceptably synthetic.

So for any of you who fit into a size small (34" bust), I've typed up the pattern. It's nothing special, but it would be cool to see other people make it.  The sweater is 17" long, and ends at the waist. My apologies to anyone of another size, that's the next sweater project.

 
You will need:
Size 6 needles
Size 8 needles straight and double pointed
2 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver in Pretty 'N Pink (or equivalent)
OR
720 yards of worsted weight yarn

Gauge:
4" x 4" in stockinette stitch = 18 stitches and 22 rows

You will need one front, one back, and two sleeves to make a full sweater. I added a one stitch selvedge to the edges of all pattern pieces to facilitate seaming.

Front and Back:
On size 6 needles, cast on 55 stitches.
Work 20 rows of 1 x 1 ribbing.
Switch to size 8 needles.
K6, M1, K6, M1, K6, M1, K6, M1, K7, M1, K6, M1, K6, M1, K6, M1, K6 (63 stitches).
Work 7 rows in stockinette stitch.
K16, M1, K31, M1, K16. Work 7 rows in stockinette stitch.
K16, M1, K33, M1, K16. Work 7 rows in stockinette stitch.
K16, M1, K35, M1, K16. Work 7 rows in stockinette stitch.
K16, M1, K37, M1, K16. Work 7 rows in stockinette stitch.
K16, M1, K39, M1, K16. Work 7 rows in stockinette stitch.
Bind off 3, knit to end. Bind off 3, purl to end.
(Bind off 2, knit to end. Bind off 2, purl to end.) x 2

For Front:
Work 18 rows in stockinette stitch.
K23, bind off 13, K23.
P23.
Bind off 3, K20.
P20.
Bind off 2, K18.
P18.
Bind off 1, K17.
P17.
Bind off 1, K16. Work 3 rows in stockinette stitch.
Bind off 1, K15.
Bind off 5, P10.
K10.
Bind off 5, P5.
K5.
Bind off .
-------------------
With the stitches still on the needle:
Bind off 3, P20.
K20.
Bind off 2, P18.
K18.
Bind off 1, P17.
K17.
Bind off 1, P16. Work 3 rows in stockinette stitch
Bind off 1, P15.
Bind off 5, K10.
P10.
Bind off 5, K5.
P5.
Bind off.

For Back:
Work 30 rows in stockinette stitch.
Bind off 5, K16, Bind off 17, knit to end.
Bind off 5, P16.
Bind off 4, K12.
Bind off 5, P7.
Bind off 2, K5.
Bind off.
-------------------
With the stitches still on the needle:
Bind off 4, P12.
Bind off 5, K7.
Bind off 2, P5.
Bind off.

Sleeves:
On size 6 needles, cast on 31 stitches.
Work 20 rows of 1 x 1 ribbing.
Switch to size 8 needles.
K1, *M1, K1, repeat from * to end.
Work 7 rows of stockinette stitch.
(K1, M1, Knit to last stitch, M1, K1. Work 7 rows of stockinette stitch) x 9
Bind off 3, knit to end. Bind off 3, purl to end.
(Bind off 2, knit to end. Bind off 2, purl to end.) x 3
(Bind off 1, knit to end. Bind off 1, purl to end.) x 2
Bind off 2, knit to end. Bind off 2, purl to end.
(Bind off 1, knit to end. Bind off 1, purl to end.) x 2
(Bind off 2, knit to end. Bind off 2, purl to end.) x 2
Bind off 3, knit to end. Bind off 3, purl to end.
Bind off.

Sew shoulders, attach sleeves, then sew side seams.

Pick up 70 stitches around the neck using double pointed or circular needles.
Work 8 rows.
 Bind off loosely

Share pictures if you make one.

Monday, October 17, 2011

It's Time

It's time for me to post something, I try really hard to do so every week at least, but there inst much to say. The last week has brought a whole lot of changes.

I left my internship to look for permanent work. I plan on taking those two days a week that I had been dedicating to work and using them to learn either java or processing. Being able to even poorly sketch working interfaces is an important skill in the future.

On Wednesday my father became ill and had to go into the hospital. He'll be having a procedure to fix some of his heart trouble in just a few hours. Things kind of stop when there are emergencies like that, and that is the reason for a lack of postworthy events.

The only noteworthy event is the commencement of the knitting of my first sweater pattern. It is a cropped style with set in sleeves and possibly some text on the front. The Red Heart Super Saver hot pink dayglow yarn ($8.60 for a sweater) is super tacky and creates the need for some sort of symbol that shows the world that I'm aware of the ugliness of the sweater. I might just write UGH on it because that is what people will say when they see it.



OK then, posting duties fulfilled. Time to get ready to knit my way through the wait at the hospital.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Break Fast Brisket

This is not a breakfast recipe, this is a recipe to break your fast. I made this two days ago for Yom Kippur dinner. It is a modification of a friend's family recipe, adding the one ingredient that tenderizes and seasons a brisket like nothing else: Coca Cola.



Ingredients:

5 pound brisket
8 stalks of celery
5 carrots
1 large onion
10 little potatoes
1/2 cup of Heinz katsup
1 can of Coke
salt
black pepper
garlic powder
thyme
2 bay leaves
cooking oil

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Preparation and cooking will take 5 hours and will feed a bunch of people.

Chop the celery and carrots into half inch pieces. Slice the onion into quarter inch cubes. Set the vegetables aside for later. Rub the brisket on both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I don't measure my spices, but I know that I can always add more later, but I can't remove excess seasoning. Put your roasting pan on the stove, and add some cooking oil, just enough to keep the meat from sticking to the pan. Braise the brisket on high heat until the meat is slightly browned on both sides.

Pour the can of soda over the meat.
Add the vegetables, thyme (preferably fresh), bay leaves, and the katsup. Make sure the brisket is laying fat side up, usually there will be one side with a thick layer of fat. Put the pan into the oven for 3 hours with a lid.
Chop your potatoes into pieces, no larger than one inch, and add them at the 3 hour point. After a half an hour, turn off the heat, but leave the pot roast to cook for another half hour.

Remove the pot roast from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes in the gravy. The meat will still be warm when you slice and serve it with a side of rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes.

Om nom, leftovers will make delicious sandwiches.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Spine Poncho Pattern is finally here!!


You may remember A while ago I asked for some help with a pattern that I came up with. After a little help from the ravelry community, I figured out how to chart this thing. The color came first, but after I uploaded the simple chart, people started to ask for the full poncho pattern.

Spine Poncho
 **A few people have had problems with Scribd  so I've decided to provide an alternative means of downloading. For those of you who would rather download from ravelry, the file is now posted there too**

This PDF is a diagrammed chart of the whole poncho. I don't want to write it out line by line because the pattern is very simple and easy to understand once you see it laid out. It's just a really big mitered piece.

For me, this was a stash buster, using up a bunch of yarn that was really warm and a bit itchy, good for a jacket type project. I never wrote down the yardage, so the file might be a little low on the amount needed of the main color.

Unfortunately, I do not have the resources right now to test this pattern before posting it, but I am sure any corrections or notes will be easily fixed once people start to make it. If you find one, just let me know in the comments section and I'll modify the file.

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