Herb-Infused Oil

My daughter and her new hubbie made up some varieties of herb-infused olive oil for me for Christmas, and they are so wonderful, I thought I'd share them, uh, bloggingly with you. They are great for a quick stir-fry or for seasoning soups or beans without the picking and peeling and chopping required for fresh herbs or even dried.

Here's what she says about how to make the infusions:

"So for the garlic oil: simmer some oil in a saucepan (a cup or however much you want). Toss in 5 or so peeled cloves of garlic. Simmer until the cloves start to float, then strain into a thing. For the rosemary, do the same with sprig of rosemary, only the rosemary won't float. So just like... time the garlic, and do it for the same amount of time."

Stupid easy, really. I keep some garlic and rosemary in their respective oils mostly for decoration and identification, but I'm sure it does strengthen the flavor over time."

UPDATE: If you leave a sprig of fresh rosemary in the oil for storage, as you use it and the level falls below the top of the sprig, it can become moldy. Maybe this could be avoided with a well-dried sprig--otherwise, just take it out or cut it to be well below the surface.

Yule Warmers

This is a wide-striped variation on the Witch Warmers pattern (knit version). It uses a variegated yarn for 2 stripes, coupled with a coordinating solid. The yarns are both Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Yarn" in sportweight: Dark Olive and Autumn Multi. *

Here's how to make them from the pattern:

1. Make a gauge swatch. This yarn knitted up smaller than the sportweight yarn used in the pattern. I had to make a size larger to get a size x-small. I decided not to use larger needles to get gauge, because the stitches would come out loose enough to not be so warm anymore.

2. Follow the notes for the short-version wristwarmers.

3. Knit the ruffle and the first 2 stripes of the pattern in Dark Olive, or your solid main color.

4. Alternate the remaining wrist stripes this way: 2 stripes all variegated, then 2 stripes all solid color, 2 more stripes variegated.

5. Skip to the top section and work all in solid color.

You can find more variations for Witch Warmers here:
Evening Length: I'd Open a Vein for You Armwarmers
Short Witch Warmers



* Photos feature my newly married daughter's beautiful harpist-hands.

Butterscotch Bark: A New Decadence

Here's the new recipe I tried... well, thought-up... this year for Yule and Christmas. With my new step-grandson visiting, I was careful to avoid chocolate and red food coloring, as requested. So, I came up with this super-easy variation on peppermint bark (couldn't find white peppermint candy this year, anyway). It tastes totally sinful!

Now I want to try this with other hard candies, like lemon drops or root beer barrels.

BUTTERSCOTCH BARK

11 oz. (1 pkg.) white chocolate chips
4 oz.(1/2 cup) butterscotch hard candies, unwrapped

-----------

Place candy in a heavy plastic bag, and hit with a hammer to break up into 1/4” or smaller pieces. For best results, do your hammering with a folded towel under the bag, placed on a hard floor or cement. This will leave some candy powder, so a few layers of plastic wrap or paper towels under the bag will help.

Place white chocolate in a microwaveable bowl. Cover and microwave for 2 minutes or less, depending upon the wattage. Stir until smooth, then stir in the butterscotch.

Spread the mixture 1/4” to 1/2” thick on waxed paper placed on a cookie sheet or in the bottom of a large, flat pan . Cool in refrigerator for about 45 minutes.

Break into bite-sized pieces and store in an airtight container.

Wassail

Another one of our Yule favorites is this nonalcoholic wassail. My kids have loved it since they were little.

WASSAIL

1-1/2 quarts (32 oz.) apple juice
2 cups pineapple juice
1 cup orange juice
juice from 1 lemon
9 allspice berries
9 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 small orange (optional)

-----------

Place spices in a spice infuser, tea ball, or cloth bag. The wassail can be made with ground spices instead: use about 1/4 tsp. each.

Combine juices in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Add the spices and boil for 1 minute. Turn down the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or more.

Turn off heat and serve with a ladle, or turn down to a very low simmer to keep warm. This can also be transferred to a crock pot for serving and keeping warm. If desired, you can add a clove-studded orange or orange slices to the punch bowl.

Serves 8 - 10

Note: It comes out sweeter if you use apple juice without vitamin C added. You can also use apple cider, but there will be a bit of alcohol, which is mostly cooked out by the time the wassail is served.

Onion Pie!

The main dish for our Yule dinner is always onion pie. It's a warm, yummy vegetarian comfort food--perfect for the Winter Solstice. The picture here was made the day after, with leftovers. When chilled, it slices into wedges very well, but when it comes out of the oven, the only way to serve it is with a spoon, like a cobbler. This recipe serves about 12 people, and I make it in a huge, round terra cotta casserole dish. You can halve this recipe and bake it in a 9" deep-dish pie pan.

ONION PIE

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
2 med. onions, sliced into half-rings
1 sm. cabbage, chopped in 1” pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dried thyme (or 1/2 tsp. ground)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1-1/2 tsp. salt
5 med. tomatoes, cut into 1/4” slices,
          or 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained and diced
1/2 lb. mild white cheese, such as Monterrey Jack, cubed (1/2”)
2 pie crusts, uncooked

-----------

Preheat oven to 375 deg. F.

In a very large pan, melt butter. Cook onion, cabbage, and garlic on medium heat until softened. Stir in thyme, pepper, and salt.

Spread the onion mixture in the bottom of a large casserole dish or two 9”deep-dish pie pans. Add the cheese, distributing evenly. Lay the tomato slices on top.

Place the pie crust(s) over the tomatoes, arranging to completely cover the pan--overlapping crust is fine. Any pie crust that extends beyond the edge of the pan should be folded inward, to lie loosely on top. Cut slits in the crust to vent.

Bake for 45 minutes (20-30 for half recipe) or until crust is browned. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes. Serve with a spoon, like cobbler.

Note: this pie refrigerates well, and can be cut into wedges when cold. Heat slices individually in microwave or conventional oven.

Serves 10-12.


For more of my favorite cabbage recipes, see
How to Cook Non-Yucky Cabbage
Barely Borscht
Cabbage Soup
Colcannon
Maple-Pecan Fried Slaw

Elf Warmers

Short and cute, these wristwarmers make a fast crochet project... great for stash-busting too. The instructions for making them are included in the Witch Warmers in Crochet pattern. Just use the short version notes in italics. You can make short anklewarmers, too, and a matching neckwarmer to complete the look.

If you prefer, you can knit these using the original Witch Warmers pattern, designed for knitters.

The yarn for this project was I Love This Yarn Sportweight by Hobby Lobby. It's 100% acrylic, inexpensive, and it has a lovely, soft feel when working with it and wearing it. In order to make this project, I broke down and bought acrylic to save money, and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. Since these wristwarmers were a holiday project, I don't expect to be washing and drying them a lot, so they will probably continue to look good for a long time.

You can find another variation for Witch Warmers in Crochet here:
Evening-Length Winter Warmers

Smooth-Finished Chain Circle

When crocheting in the round, like for socks, mittens, hats, or sleeves that start at the cuff, it’s nice to have a smooth circle from the joined base chain. After all, it will be a very visible end of the finished item. But what to do about the little jump in the circle that appears at the knot?

Here’s what I have come up with:

1. After finishing the piece, use a yarn needle or small crochet hook to draw the tail yarn through the chain beside the knot. That would be the next-to-last-made chain of the foundation or base chain that the knot and tail are “pointing at.”


2. Then split the tail yarn into 2 strands.


3. Draw one strand back through the first stitch in the first round, on the other side of the knot, in the inside of the work.


4. Tie the 2 strands together, and work in ends.

For more crochet tips to help with the Witch Warmers in Crochet pattern, see the following posts:
Forming a Base Chain Circle
Avoiding Stiff Crochet
Swatch Wars