July Stockings

Finished up just in time!

I actually stitched them earlier in the month (way earlier) but put the finishing aside and then.................totally forgot they existed. I came across them last night while I was organizing stacks of crap some stash hanging around my living room and whipped them together. Not sure how much I like the wedding ring one though? The stitched part is so much smaller than the stocking template, it looks weird to me? I thought about trimming it/sewing it together so it was right on the edge of the cross stitched part but that would make it a lot smaller than all the other stockings I've done and I know THAT would bother me too so I left it as is. I'll just chalk this one up as "Not One of My Favorites" in the series. /shrug

It was a week of bad mojo for all my projects, I guess. I've been working on a pair of socks with my Watermelon yarn and was making good progress, was up to the toe on the SECOND sock...........and realized I had knit the leg too long by not ONE, but TWO pattern repeats. And I'm not going to lie - I contemplated how much it would bother me that one sock would be longer by about two inches than it's mate. Anything to avoid ripping out a few days of work. But OF COURSE that would bother me because it's such a STUPID mistake and who wants to be reminded of that? lol So I eventually came to my senses and  ripped it all out so I could start the heel/foot part all over again. (Which is where it sits for the moment because I think this project and I need a Time Out for a few days. Hurt feelings on both sides and all.) If you're not royally screwing up your knitting here and there, you're not doing it right.........right? lol

Here's a neat not-quite-a-recipe recipe for Corn on the Cob from Tasty Kitchen that I tried yesterday that came out wicked good. It looks odd - almost like you are cooking your corn in soap water. But the corn really *was* the best ever. Didn't need anything to accompany it other than a sprinkling of kosher salt. And I'm usually the sort to glop butter alllllllllllllllllll over my corn on the cob. I'm not much of a butter lover in the larger scope of things and almost always prefer my veggies plain steamed or roasted with a little olive oil, with two exceptions: corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. I just *have* to have real butter for those and that's that. Heart valves be damned, I say! But this came out so good it honestly didn't need it.

New Recipe - Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken Wings

Recipe Link.

Photo credit: Steamy Kitchen

These are sinfully good. It made my face go like this: o_0  Which I was surprised by because I generally don't like making chicken wings at home. (I pretty much only like them when they are fried and I try to avoid deep frying at home, except for making french fries once in a while. I deep fried chicken wings ONCE. ONCE. And the guilt that followed dogged me for at least a week, maybe even two. lol So now I just occasionally get my fix when we eat out. Somehow deep fried restaurant food is more acceptable than fried food made at home. I DON'T MAKE THE RULES PEOPLE. It just is what it is.) Other than grilling them once in a blue moon during the summer months, I never make wings. Ever. But the food bloggers have been out in force this month with the wing recipes (gearing up for the Super Bowl) and this one grabbed my attention. I only made 8 (whole) wings out of a big family pack because I didn't want there to be any leftovers in case I didn't like them but, wow, was that a mistake! We gobbled these up and made sad faces when we realized there was no more. All that was left on our plates was steamed broccoli and, whoaaa, VERY POOR SUBSTITUTE!! lol I still have the other half of the pack left to cook up so I might just makes these again later this week. :)

Mods: Nothing major. I poked small holes all over the wings before cooking so the rendered fat could escape and to help them get crispier. This is essential, I think, because chicken wings nowadays are so so so fatty. I also turned them halfway through cooking and switched to 'broil' near the end to also help crisp them up.

Oh! And I also made hummus for the first time too this weekend. Something I've been meaning to do for a loooooong time. It's so easy to buy pre-done, eh? Verdict: unbelievably yummy and well worth the little bit (and it really is a VERY easy thing to make) time to do it yourself.. I added more garlic to mine because I worship at the altar of Toxic Garlicky Mouth Fumes and needed to make an appropriate monthly sacrifice, *ahem*, but you certainly don't NEED to do that - the recipe is just fine as is. :)

New Recipe - Flank Steak Lo Mein

http://icookstuff.blogspot.com/2009/03/flank-steak-lo-mein-revisited.html

(pic is from above link)

Or sorta new because I've certainly done a lo mein or three in the past. But I've always done them with pork or chicken, never with flank steak. I do loves me some flank steak though. Broiled, grilled, slow-cooked, bbq'ed and shredded, you name it, this cut of steak is goooooood eats which says a lot because I'm not big on steak in general.

I have a bookmark folder called 'Recipes to Try' that's, ohhh, about 3 pages long and I like to browse it now and again for inspiration. This one caught my eye this week because I had a flank stank defrosted and a red pepper to use up. The steak was unbelievably tender and came out tasting like teriyaki - but really GOOD teriyaki. Not that gloppy, overly sweet stuff you sometimes get.

Mods: None to speak of other than the fact that I didn't measure anything. lol When it comes to asian style cooking, I know what I like and just eyeball it at this point. In addition to the red pepper, I added broccoli and thinly sliced onions for the veggies. And a plop of sambal oelek for a little heat. Oh, and a little sesame oil. Just a tiny bit though. :)