Vegan biscuits and cake

Ok, I forgot to say, my husband is a vegan. This is a project that has been going on for two years. We've been married three years. So, I re-learned to cook.

These are probably high fat in the vegan recipe, but then, there isn't a lot he can/will eat... so he definitely isn't watching calories.

Baking Powder Biscuits - Veganized
2 c. flour (or 1.5 c. white flour, .5 c wheat flour)
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. unsweetened soy milk (skim milk non-vegan)
1/3 c. oil (we use 1/2 olive oil, 1/2 canola) (melted margarine, non-vegan)

stir dry mixture together in a large pan/bowl/wok, mix milk and oil together in another cup or bowl. Pour wet mixture onto dry, stir until combined. You might need to add just a little more flour if your dough is sticky. Roll into 6 or 7 balls, stretch each ball into a flat dough pancake. Put on a cookie sheet or aluminum foil in 400 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes. Great with tomatoes, salsa and vegan gravy (store-bought :o(

Cake mix, veganized

Duncan Hines moist yellow cake mix
mashed banana or ground flaxseed as binder(eggs)
canola oil and water as mix indicates

Note: I noticed Duncan Hines moist yellow cake mix isn't vegan anymore! It has egg white or whey in it, I forget which. Double check your cake mixes -- but a banana is a good binder to use instead of egg. You could also look up a regular 'quick cake' from-scratch mix like this Applesauce Cake and substitue the banana for the egg.

Willowpede channels Confucius...

Woman with wet paintbrush should not bat at mosquito.

Heh, I painted more at the office today. I do wish Willowpede had channeled Confucius before I got paint flying through the air. At least it was latex, and I'm washable.. and most of what it hit was expendable ;o) **ie dirt, old trailer, other boards to be painted etc**

Cast on my mom's NEW slipper sock and have gotten to the instep decreases. I love Socks101. I darned three holes in the brown house socks! I'm telling myself some kitten named Salamander might have chewed on it. She has taken a liking to wool fiber. I found her chewing on one of our wool blankets, and previously on one of these socks. I can just imagine if we get our sheep and I start spinning wool! The trouble we will be in then...

Willow's burned foot is healing somewhat. She has me worried with it though. She got on the stove late last week at the office. She started limping on it yesterday (after a whole weekend of it looking okay) and it had changed color. We put some camphor spray on it today and she did not approve at all.

Willow and Sally have little brothers and sisters at the office. Two of them are stub-tailed. Their dad (and Willow's too, probably) is a Manx. He really does look like that picture! One of the new kittens looks just like Willow, he is a boy though and does have a tail. The two tail-less are a yellow and white tom and a girl that is gray with speckles. She is the most fearless and the most noisy. J helped to name her Ewok. She looks sort of like a little wokling. She has that hair thing going on and the big eyes, that's for sure.

Well, off to make biscuits and a cake. It is 65 degrees out and falling. We really can't believe this is Fall in the South. My poor mom has 39 degrees and falling up in Minnesota!

WalMart *growl*, French and unraveling sweaters

I was knitting a slipper sock for my Mom out of some stash yarn (RH). Every store in Fargo, ND had this particular yarn coming out their ears. Our new town is a nice place btw, but not for yarn! *growl*.

I needed more and knew it might be a different dye lot. But they don't carry it at all :_o( Instead of buying a different color I decided to just save my money. I know there is something else in the stash that will make two socks.

So I guess that slipper sock gets ripped out and returned whence it came. C'est la vie? ...segway... I am learning to read French. I have four books of the essays from Montaigne, and a book called Le Grand Meaulnes. All of this with a dictionary and a 1941 'French Grammar Excercises.' Our library bookstore sold me the lot for about $5.50! The librarian said a lady had donated an entire collection of French literature and learning materials and they were only able to put a small amount of them on the shelf. Sad in a way - but I'll give them a good home! (right alongside my German books)

French Reading Resources Online :

• BabelFish Translator
  
• Word Reference dictionary
  
• French Poetry
  
• Athena online French texts
  

I finished J's earwarmer. He promised to model it in a photograph at a later date. Also began recycling(unraveling) a blue cotton sweater that is MUCH too big on me. Seriously, a boat would fit me better. I plan to make a multitude of dishclothes and dishtowels out of the knotty yarn.

Ebay yarn & Earwarmer Pattern

J modelling the earwarmer


I have a super secret Ebay bid on a large cone of yarn... some multicolored dream stuff that would most likely become a rectangular shawl. I still love my Cascade 220 Quatro shawl. It is somewhere in the closet though. It's just about time to dig it out again.

J clipped the claws on the kittens' front feet. Willowpede still has an earache. She felt well enough to attack J's hand under a blanket. Salamander couldn't resist - she got so wild and energetic Willow gave up. She curled up in the egg crate. Poor girl. I know she is having a bad day.

One slipper sock down for Mom. One more to go. J's earwarmer will be finished tomorrow. I got the idea for it from World War II Other Warm Things at HJS Studio. I used the same increase method but up to 21 from 15. I measured it against J's head until one half was correct.

EARWARMER for J
Black Wool-Ease, size 5 straight needles.
cast on 15, garter stitch for about 4 inches.
First Ear :

Increase every row back and forth until 21 stitches.
Knit 4 rows straight, begin to decrease back to 15 stitches.

Knit for 9.5 inches. Make a second ear. Garter stitch for 4 more inches again.
Bind off and sew short sides together. Weave in any tails.

Adjust for size of actual wearer. J has about 23" circ. around the back of his neck and over his forehead. The garter stitch will stretch some, but I'm not making it a tight stretch.

Time to make: would have been one night but I finished knitting a sock too ;o)

Fall begins

Here is a pic that shows both of the kittens, Sally and Willowpede. I finished the white house socks, after much much procrastinating. I left them on the needles in my yarn box for the better part of four months, with just six rows and grafting left to do on the second sock. It took coming down with the flu and having the brown socks in the wash to make me go and finish them.

Knitting headbands and earmuffs for biking. People don't seem to bike much here in our town. I think this is the time of the year (50-60 degree weather starts again) they consider 'cold'. Today was 75 degrees though, and biking felt good.

I am drooling over yarn again online. All the names and textures. And not a single yarn shop for over 100 miles! I don't count WalMart. Although I guess RedHeart is okay for a pair of slippers. Making a pair of sock-slippers for my mom out of some old stashed RedHeart. I like 100% wool yarn the best. Try finding that at WalMart :o( Ours doesn't even carry Wool-Ease!

Sooner or later we will get over to Nashville and I can visit the Haus of Yarn. That probably won't be until early next year.

In the meantime, Knitpicks catalog came in the mail. So I am drooling over those options too. I hate to pay shipping on something I used to be able to walk three blocks and pick up. I miss the Yarn Renaissance in Fargo, ND!

Well enough whining. J has requested a headband for him (since he saw the genius of mine). His ears got cold biking today too. I have that pair of slippers to knit and our Willowpede has an earache. I guess when you are all ears (look at her pic below) that is bound to happen. She was miserable last night and slept next to me in the bed. That is very different, she is the 'where is that hiding spot of mine?' type of cat when she sleeps. She wouldn't even play with Sally today. Sally took comfort in attacking the plastic bags the groceries came in.

Ok, knitting bits, check. Yarn gripes and whines, check. Kitty saga, check.
;o) ~Rhe

Box O' Kittens!

These were the kittens back in June or so. It was too cute to pass up. I'll post another pic of what they look like now. The striped one in front is Willow, and the one just behind her (hardly able to be seen, grey with white stripe up nose) is our Sally(Salamander). Our girls are 6 months now and still not settling down ;o)