Monday, November 19, 2012

Curried Sweet Potato Salad


Can you believe Thanksgiving is this Thursday?! I'm really looking forward to all of the traditional Thanksgiving foods - mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potato casserole... I'm getting excited just thinking about it!

A few months ago, my sisters and I made dinner for some friends. I've been meaning to share the menu from that dinner, however, it kind of turned into a smorgus board - not exactly worthy of a blog post. So instead, I'm going to share with you all one of the dishes my sister Natalie made that night, Curried Sweet Potato Salad. This salad was beautiful and tasted fabulous! The sweetness from the potato and raisins, the spicy flavor from the curry, the crunch from the celery and cashews... yum! Not the best dish to eat with pasta, which is what we tried to do, but would be amazing with chicken and a green salad.

Maybe something different to add to your Thanksgiving table? I'm not usually a fan of deviating away from tradition, and I do love sweet potato casserole, but I thought I'd throw the idea out there. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Little Gifts


Lately, I've had the joy of having friends that are having babies. This is wonderful for a couple of reasons. Firstly, babies are great. Secondly, it gives me an excuse to make cute, little projects that are also really quick since they're so tiny. I want to share with you two projects I've done recently that make great gifts for babies.


These are a pair of moccasin booties that I made for a friend who is expecting a little boy this month. I followed this pattern and it really only took me an afternoon to complete. It was lucky I had all of these colors on hand (thanks to a couple of very sweet birthday gifts and leftover yarn from previous projects).


These mittens I made for a friend's little boy who turned one this month. The pattern I used came from here. It's sized for a 2-4 year old so I'm thinking he might need a couple of years to grow into them. I decided to add a little bit of color to the already marled yarn so that's where the orange I's come in. I did this using a duplicate stitch. If you haven't tried this stitch before, you should. It's a really easy way to add any kind of embellishment you want to anything you knit.

Christmas season feels like it will be here before you know it and, of course, Christmas season usually means gift-giving. I hope these projects inspire you to try out some handmade gifts for the little people in your life.

Monday, November 5, 2012

The Menu: Butternut Squash Lasagna & Arugula Salad



About a month ago, Kelsey made this amazing birthday dinner for her husband, Ryan. Unfortunately, I don't have the recipes for most of the things listed here - you'll have to ask Kelsey for those. Rather than the individual recipes, I was hoping to share the flavor of the overall meal - and provide you with some ideas for your next dinner party.

__________________the menu________________ 
Baked Brie
Grapes
Crackers

Pumpkin Ale

Butternut Squash Lasagna
Arugula Salad  
with apples, walnuts, goat cheese, and lemon vinaigrette

Coffee

The lasagna had sort of a muted but sweet flavor that worked well with the bright and tart, yet nutty, salad. The salad was so good that I ended up making a variation of it everyday for lunch that week! To make the vinaigrette - whisk together some freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper - use a ratio that is to your liking.
 

And the cake was amazing! It is no surprise that this amazing recipe was found on Smitten Kitchen - there always seems to be something worth trying there. I wish I had another piece of this cake right now - chocolate and peanut butter goodness! 

Have you ever seen a candle do that? Maybe it was used one too many times...


Whether you have a birthday to celebrate or just need an idea for dinner - this menu is the perfect thing to sit down to on an Autumn evening! 


Thank you, Kelsey, for such a wonderful meal!