Winter is Coming - Will You have Coffee?

It may only be November 7th, but winter is coming.  There's no stopping it.  Soon we'll be seeing winter storm warnings, blizzards, and ice storms.  If you follow me on Facebook, you'll see that I posted a tip from the National Weather Service about how to outfit your car to be winter ready.  However, in this blog post, I'd like to focus on something a little bit more mundane, coffee.

With any winter storm comes the threat of power outages.  Once you've got your firewood stocked, food stored up, and plenty of flashlights, there are the creature comforts to consider.  How will you have hot coffee when there's no power?

My parents ran into the coffee problem in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley back in 2004.  Dad grinds his coffee fresh every morning using an electric coffee grinder and makes a pot of coffee in the electric coffee pot.  After Charley though, there was no power. Mom and Dad ended up driving quite a ways inland to find a coffee shop to have coffee.  They were able to do this because Charley was a small hurricane, in terms of diameter.

However, if there's a blizzard with 24 inches of snow on the ground and roadways, you probably can't hop in the car and drive to where there wasn't a blizzard and get coffee.  Winter storms can cover entire states and more, and it could take days or longer for power crews to come out to restore power.

I propose that with proper prior planning and the ability to boil water, you can have your coffee and drink it too.  First of all, if a blizzard is coming, get some ground coffee, or grind up a whole bunch of coffee before it gets here.  I'd grind a whole pound of it.  You can store it in a sealed container in your freezer to keep it fresh.  Then, you can either use a French Press or a Single Cup Coffee Maker (pictured below) to make your coffee.

A French Press is pretty self-explanatory, but the single-cup coffee brewer is pretty cool.  You put a #2 coffee filter in it, set it atop your coffee cup, put in your desired amount of coffee, and then you pour boiling or hot water through it slowly until your cup is filled.

If we had a blizzard and no power, I'd clear off a portion of our back deck and set up an outdoor kitchen.  I have a Coleman camp stove, fuel, and camping pots/pans/etc. already for camping.  They'd be very useful in such a situation. We'd have no problem boiling water for coffee or cooking anything we desired.

Crochet Blanket Edgings

If you're in need of an easy gift idea, try crocheting an edging onto a blanket.  It's super-simple, and it took me about 3 hours total.  That's not a terrible amount of time from start of crafting to finished object.  Above, you can see the full blanket with edging and cat for scale.  Below is a closer shot of the edging around the blanket.

What you will need to make a similar blanket, which I think could be a great gift idea is the following:

• a fleece blanket with a sewn edging
• Red Heart Super Saver yarn or equivalent worsted weight acrylic yarn
• crochet hook - I used a size J - Pick a crochet hook that allows you to single crochet around the blanket without any tugging or puckering

I made a slipknot, stuck it on my hook, tightened it down, and inserted the hook under the sewn edging, then made a single crochet.  I continued in this manner, using the sewn edging as the basis for my single crochets around the entire blanket.  I started in one corner, and you will work left to right.  When I reached my first stitch, I made a slip stitch to join.

Then it was time to make shells.  You could make any border stitch pattern you'd like, but I chose shells.  For my border, I made 5 double crochets into that first single crochet where I had just slip stitched.  Then, I skipped 3 single crochets and made 5 double crochets into the 4th single crochet.  Skip 3, make 5 double crochets, skip 3, make 5 double crochets all the way around the blanket until you reach your very first stitch.  Then slip stitch to join, sew in ends, and viola you have a completed blanket.

I will be washing my blanket to remove the cat fur and donating it to Project Linus.

Crochet 1: Basic Stitches

I'm teaching Basic Crochet on Wednesdays, November 6, 13, & 20 at 6:00-8:00 pm

Join us for this introductory crochet class where we'll learn all the basic stitches - and leave class with a great, basic crochet booklet.  This class is great for those who have never crocheted, or for those who would like a refresher.  We'll cover basic stitches, pattern stitches, reading instructions, increasing and decreasing and some finishing techniques.

$45

At the Sow's Ear - Verona, WI

About a Sweater

Yesterday, I received a request to have a picture of my sweater featured on a pattern page.  Having your sweater featured is quite an honor, and I am suitably honored.

What's funny is that this turquoise sweater is more than a sweater to me.  It has matching socks too!

All kidding aside, I made the sweater and sock set for a special occasion, and the memory of that special occasion is linked to this sweater.  I made it to wear to my nephew's dedication ceremony at his church in April of 2011.

The pattern is "Jukebox Jingle" and can be found in the book, "The Ultimate Knitted Tee."

Crock Pot Chicken ala Renee

This is the perfect thing to make on a weekend because it takes 8 hours in the crock pot, and it's absurdly easy.

What you need:

• A whole chicken
• Salt
• Pepper
• Crock Pot
• 8 hours + chicken washing time

I thaw my chicken in a bowl to keep juices from escaping into the refrigerator, and then I take that very same bowl over to the kitchen sink and set it in there with the chicken inside of it. Saves me having to clean the sink before cleaning the chicken. The first thing I do is take out the bag of giblets, rinse them off, and stick them in the crock pot. I give them to the cats, and they help to flavor the juices for making yummy gravy. I rinse the chicken off in warm water and remove any feathers that were missed by the defeathering process that happened when the chicken was processed. I stick the chicken in the crock pot, skin and all, and then I wash my hands really, really, really well. Then I salt and pepper the chicken, stick the lid on, and put the crock pot on low heat for 8 hours.

Now I've got 8 hours to do whatever I want to do, but first things first. The bowl and all chicken processing equipment such as my scissors to open the bag go in the dishwasher, the sink gets cleaned, and my hands get washed thoroughly once again.

Forward ahead 8 hours. In that time, I've managed to:

• Take a walk with my cat
• Watch Season 5 of Doctor Who
• Catch up some on the Weather Channel
• Poke about on Facebook
• Finish 2 knitting projects for the contest I'm involved in

Say it with me, "slow cookers are awesome!"

I made a batch of biscuits using the Gluten Free Bisquick and substituting Ener-G egg substitute, rice milk, and vegan shortening.

Then, I pulled the chicken out of the slow cooker and placed it on a serving plate. Ok so it wasn't so much a serving plate but a 9x9 baking pan. But whatever, if the chicken fits, and it's dishwasher safe... I fished out the giblets and set them on a plate to cool for the cats. Then I poured out the juices into my Pyrex measuring cup and found out that I had a whole 2 cups of juices - perfect for gravy!

I know that a while ago, I posted about this absurdly easy gravy recipe. Seriously though anything involving making a roux is not easy, absurd or not. I found a much easier recipe online for Microwave Turkey Gravy, but it works just as well for chicken. It's a wheat-free, gluten-free recipe!

Here's what you need:

• 2 cups turkey OR chicken broth (The chicken made 2 cups of its own broth)
• tablespoons Argo® or Kingsford's® Corn Starch (I use Argo)
• tablespoons turkey fat drippings, skimmed from pan (The chicken also made fat drippings included in the broth - there is a method to my skin-leaving-on madness afterall!)

Here's what you do:

• Stir turkey broth and corn starch in a 1-1/2-quart microwaveable bowl until smooth. Season to taste.
• Microwave on HIGH (100%), 7 to 9 minutes, stirring twice, until mixture boils; boil 1 minute. (It never takes nearly this long, so be sure to watch the microwave. I average 3 minutes)
• Remove from microwave. Stir in fat drippings. (nope, I don't have to - included in the broth)

This was a super-easy chicken dinner! Thanks Renee! You rock!

BLT Sandwich!

Sometimes when you have as many multiple food allergies as I do, you can really get to missing foods that you used to love. Case in point: the BLT sandwich. I've no problem eating either bacon, lettuce, or tomatoes, and since I've learned of my allergies, I've developed an appreciation for bacon that I'd never had previously. Honestly, it's an easy protein, and when eaten in moderation, there's nothing wrong with bacon. Made in the microwave, it's not nearly as messy as making it on the stovetop. Being allergic to dairy and eggs means that meat is about the only protein I can eat.

All that said, however, the idea of bacon and tomato lettuce wraps isn't that thrilling to me. Then, Craig's friend, Chris, told him about an allergen free bread. So, Craig stopped at Whole Foods on his way home from work and picked up a loaf of this special bread, Ener-g's Yeast-free Brown Rice Loaf. It's free of gluten, wheat, casein, dairy, yeast, egg, soy, and nut.

Using my special, dedicated toaster, we toasted up some of this bread and made a BLT sandwich for me. I'm allergic to mayonnaise, so I used the Earth Balance buttery spread instead. The result was utter and wonderful deliciousness!

About my special toaster:
It is very easy to experience cross-contamination in the kitchen. Even a particle of an allergen can cause an allergic reaction! I'm not being hyperbolic either. I'm quite serious. I've reacted from even touching things that I'm allergic to. So, I bought a dedicated toaster. It's pink, so there's no mistaking my special toaster.

Crustless, Dairy-free, Egg-free Key Lime Pie ala Dad and Me

I was in Florida last week visiting my family, and one of Dad's friends had given him a bag of key limes. I love key limes. I'll even eat them straight! But Dad and I decided to challenge ourselves and figure out how to make a key lime pie that I would not be allergic to, and he would not be either. Dad and I both have food allergies.

When making the first pie, Dad attempted to modify a recipe he has for homemade oatmeal and fruit bars into an oatmeal-based crust. It didn't taste bad, but it didn't add anything to the pie. We ended up eating slices of pie and skipping the crust bit. So, I suggested that we make life easier and make crustless pie.

Here is our key lime pie recipe:

3/4 cups key lime juice
2 1/2 cups soy milk
1 cup sugar
5 TBSP cornstarch
2 tsp lime zest

Whisk all the ingredients together in a saucepan, then turn on medium heat and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thick and creamy. Allow to cool slightly and then either pour into a pie plate or individual ramekins. Refrigerate until firm.