March 23, 2012

Fiber Fridays: My First Sock! (and a Giveaway preview)

I am so proud and excited… I’m about 3/4 of the way into my very first SOCK! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to Ravelry and Come to Silver.com for recommending/hosting this great beginner’s sock tutorial.

I feel that there is a certain mysticism and awe that surrounds the knitting of socks. Seasoned knitters see them as ‘no big thing,’ but us newbies stare at them wide eyed and lustful as we watch the dpns fly and the sock shape come to life. Well, i am wide eyed no more: i am a sock knitter! Well, almost a sock knitter. I still have the toe to work out, and have no idea how well these socks will fit. I’m sure they’ll fit SOMEbody, and i will be proud of this sock no matter what. I’m hoping that the second sock will turn out similar enough to the first to create a matched pair. I didn’t use handspun for this project, to give myself the best shot at creating an even design, but i did use a lovely self striping sock yarn that i’ll have an interesting time finding the same portion of the colorway to start the second sock with.

Silver’s sock tutorial is perfect for absolute beginners. No crazy abbreviations, no knitter’s lingo, no boggling charts: just simple english with descriptive pictures. I kept a few sock knitting books alongside me for further inspiration, and am stoked that the patterns are now making sense! The shaping of the heel is a bizarro thing, but learning it in plain english, then reviewing it in pattern-speak, i think i’ve got it down! I can’t wait to get this book in the mail, and have several fun patterns bookmarked from books i got at the library (which i will *maybe not so legally* be copying for future use), including this one.

Yay, socks!

This post isn’t all about footwear though… I also have a special giveaway to introduce. Meet the Pocket inspired mini corgi, she’d like to come home with YOU:

As i mentioned in last Friday’s post, i have a new feature to add to the blog, and i think you will love it. Along with my regular Fiber Friday posts I will be featuring a one of a kind felted miniature available for sale. These “Fiber Friends” will be featured bi-weekly and be offered at very reasonable prices: just enough to help me cover the costs of running this blog, but low enough to avoid straining the budgets of any of my readers. I will be posting the felties to my Etsy page (which is still in the works, link will be added to the sidebar as soon as it’s up and spiffy) where you can easily snatch them up to add a bit of whimsy and felted love to your life.

As you know, i’m obsessed with our dog, Pocket – so you’ll be sure to find plenty of wee corgis, but i’ll also felt mini sheep, alpacas, bunnies or whatever else comes into my fancy – or yours! I welcome comments and ideas: so post away with ideas for your favorite “Fiber Friend.”

For now, fall in love with this li’l friend, and get ready for her giveaway next week!

Are you a knitter? Have you tried socks yet? Seasoned knitters: share your sock stories with us: do you remember your first pair?

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March 22, 2012

Easy Salad Dressing & Another Use for Your Mason Jars

I had to chuckle this past Sunday evening, when i heard Lynne Rossetto Kasper on The Splendid Table speaking with Isaac Mizrahi about making salad dressing in canning jars. I swear, Lynne has great things to say but sometimes she comes across as completely clueless. Both Lynne and Isaac seemed to think that using a mason jar to emulsify a vinaigrette was some amazing new trick: that i have been using for years! I was even more surprised at their seemingly clueless lack of knowledge of mason jar products. Isaac mentioned buying up small mayo jars in order to get a perfect sized jar with a plastic lid, vs using a mason jar with the two piece ring/seal lid. Hey guys: they sell plastic storage lids for mason jars. Cheap.

Anyway, dissing aside: this really is a great method for making salad dressing. It’s easy to emulsify the dressing by shaking up the jar, vs whisking and making a mess in an extra bowl AND you can then store the rest of the dressing in the fridge: it’s already in a little jar!

Isaac made a classic vinaigrette for Lynne during this episode, but my hands down favorite salad dressing (other than just drizzling oil then balsamic directly on the salad) is honey mustard. This is my recipe:

Honey Mustard Dressing

  • 1 measure honey (about half a tablespoon – i use our soup spoons vs a baking measuring spoon)
  • 2 measures mustard (a full spoonfull)
  • 2 measures tasty olive oil
  • Apple Cider Vinegar (if using a half pint, i generally half fill it)
  • Additional herbs spices of your preference: cayenne, basil, thyme
  • Salt/Pepper

The amount of vinegar is use is basically personal preference, depending on how vinegary you like. To mix the dressing: measure out the honey, mustard and olive oil and mix well with a spoon. Add other herbs and seasonings and the apple cider vinegar, put the lid on the jar and shake shake shake! If it ends up too tangy, add a bit more honey and olive oil, not tangy enough add more vinegar. That’s it!

Note: when choosing honey for your dressing, try and find a local source to get the added benefit of allergy suppression. If you can’t get local honey, be sure you choose a sustainable brand and try not to pick something overly generic. I once saw a ‘bear’ of honey in the grocery store that had two labels on it, one covering another. When i lifted the top label, i found a “made in Vietnam” sticker underneath… I’m pretty sure i don’t want Vietnamese honey. In my cupboard right now is a delicious jar of honey from my Aunt-in-law’s farm. It is sage honey and is perfect for dressing! Not too sweet, subtle herby flavor, and sustainably harvested to boot. If you live in California and are interested in keeping bees, consider checking out their upcoming beekeeping course. I wish i could!

Do you make your own salad dressing, or do you buy it ready made from the store?

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March 20, 2012

A Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered our giveaway over the past week! Welcome to our new friends and thanks for joining Pocket’s community. She likes new friends and so do i.

So without further ado, the winner of two Nude Soap products (a bar of soap and an herbal balm *excluding shampoo bars) is

“Manda”

Yay! Congratulations “Manda” and thanks for entering our giveaway. You didn’t leave email contact info, so i hope you see this announcment and contact me with your choice of soap and balm along with your mailing address and look for your goodies in the mail soon.

Not a winner this time? Never fear! We have some fun giveaways planned in the next few months, so stick around, enjoy our posts and keep sharing your favorites with your friends on facebook, twitter and pinterest. I’ll be blogging at Bathtime tomorrow, and will be back here with a tasty recipe on Thursday. Happy “first day of Spring!” So for now, get off that screen and get out and play in the yard.

 

note: any giveaway prizes unclaimed after 2 weeks are deemed null.

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March 19, 2012

Culling for Flock Management, Nourishment and Neighborliness

*** Warning: this post includes some graphic photographs of the chicken butchering process. No photos of the actual slaughtering are included, but there’s plenty of feathers and meat involved. Please use your own judgement on whether this is a good post for you to read or not. ***

A friend pointed out that this photo makes the hen look like "a pot of gold" with the rainbow coming from "her bum". too funny.

 

Since we feed Pocket raw meaty bones, we’re always looking for new sources of cheap or free meat. We’re also (as young new wannabe farmers with little butchering experience) always looking for a way to practice new homesteading skills. So, when my friend asked if we’d be interested in culling a few of her older hens, i jumped at the opportunity. We still have about 4 or 5 more hens, a rooster and an angora rabbit to be culled, and at the rate we were going today – it will take us a while. We were able to slaughter, butcher and pack up 2 hens and froze over 6 pounds of meaty bones for Pocket and meat for us, including the feet to be boiled down to stock.

Hens held upside down are actually very relaxed: thus this is an excellent position for her to be in before slaughter.

 

We need more practice, which is good since we’ll be getting plenty of it with the other animals. We chose to skin the hens instead of plucking them, and I’m glad we did because the second hen was literally FULL of fat. A ton of fat. Thick, yellow, intestine-crowding fat. And eggs. The eggs were pretty cool, actually.

Our novice process: We tied the hens to a post away from the other chickens (so that the blood wouldn’t attract predators) and slaughtered them using a VERY SHARP filet knife, cutting each of their two arteries at the base of the head. Note: it is very important that you use a very sharp blade, and cut with confidence to ensure a quick, painless, humane death. Either hold the hens still, in a killing cone or with your hands securing wing tips against body, OR allow the chickens to jerk during their death spasms. The blood will drain out either way, and the chickens will relax: the method is personal preference and the hen should die within a few minutes. Once the hens were dead, we cut off their feet (to be boiled down) and then skinned from neck to cloaca. Navigating around the crop, cloaca and wings wasn’t easy, but we were able to get all the skin and feathers off, scoop out the intestines, and save all the “good parts” after rinsing to freezer paper parcels in 1 pound increments for Pocket. We also saved the breasts and thighs off the first hen for ourselves: it will be interesting to see how they taste!

Our friend loves raising livestock, but doesn’t like having to end their lives. So, we got free meat and invaluable experience, and she didn’t have to bloody her hands. Give, take, lend a hand and be a good neighbor: isn’t that what rural friendship is all about?

Have you ever slaughtered/butchered a chicken? Were you squeamish, or did you find the process fascinating?

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