What a Girl Wants

Things have been a tad busy. However, instead of sharing a probably potentially lame quiz, I will list a few knitting related items that I totally lust after. Yes, I know to lust is a sin, but sometimes I just can't help myself.


Harmony Knitting Needles
These are just so beautiful, and the double points remind me of pick-up-sticks.

Namaste Laguna Knitting Bag
I can't even begin to imagine how useful this bag would be. The most difficult part would be choosing a colour, I'd probably go with Olive, but Hollywood Pink is quite nice as well.

Namaste Glass Knitting Needles
So pretty. I love both the Dots and the Cones ones.

Knitters Abacus Bracelet
I love this just as a bracelet, nevermind that it is also amazingly practical. Of course I would have to have the matching stitch markers as well. What's the point of lusting if you're not going to go all the way.

Amazing Discoveries

Every now and then, okay a lot of the time, alright already, so every free moment I am awake, and possibly even a few that I'm not awake, I find myself looking for fun and fabulous places online. I usually Stumble them, or sometimes following links from other cool places. Here, in no particular order, are a few of my very latest finds.

Bake and Destroy - Fun, funny and with cupcakes.

The Black Oven - A bit of darkness with sumptuous recipes.

Michael Miller Fabrics - Pretty, funky & quirky fabrics galore.

Japanese IQ Test - Totally consuming, I have completed the task, twice, but can't remember how.

Cock-tastic

Born in the year of the Rooster, I happen to have a deep affection for rooster kitcheny things. However, not the traditional rustic, rooster stuff. I like mine a little on the funkier side. These are a few of the fabulous items I found today while searching online for a leopard print ceramic rooster.


Rooster Fabric


Rooster Spoon Rest


Rooster Pitcher


Falsetto Rooster


Fruit Cocktail Rooster

I absolutely love the fabric. I think it would be perfect for hot pads, pot holders or on a apron. However, the Falsetto Rooster and the Fruit Cocktail Rooster are definitely my faves.

Identitiy Crisis

I very often think this blog should probably be titled "Moonlit Kitchen", since it seems to have way more food related entries than knitting ones. However, being the Gemini that I am, I would have great difficulty blogging about just one thing. Who knows, if it were Moonlit Kitchen, most of the posts would probably be about knitting, or sewing, or reading, or one of my many other loves. On that note, today I will share the products of my Moonlit Kitchen, which does actually have a lovely view of the moon this time of year.

Dual Focaccia Pizza

This is the pizza before going into the oven. I couldn't make up my mind what kind of pizza I wanted, so I went dual. I used a rosemary & onion focaccia. topped one half with asiago artichoke dip, rotisserie chicken, sliced capicolla, boconoccini and parmesan. I topped the other half with chipotle bbq sauce, rotisserie chicken, mushrooms and shredded monterey jack cheese. Both sides were very tasty.

Since making the Mojito cupcakes earlier in the week, I have been dying to make some chocolate cupcakes to go with the leftover mint buttercream. Today was that day. There were both mini cupcakes and regular sized cupcakes, and when smothered in the mint buttercream they were even more delicious. It was like eating a moist fluffy Andes mint. Come to think of it, Andes mints are sort of like a teeny, tiny, mint version of Nanaimo bars.

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes



Chocolate Cake Recipe

1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare pans, either grease and flour or line with parchment or cupcake papers. Sift together first five ingredients in large-ish bowl. Mix buttermilk, eggs, oil and vanilla in large measuring cup. Pour into dry mixture, mix well. Add one cup boiling water, stir just 'til combined. Pour into pans and bake.

30-35 minutes for cakes
12 minutes for mini cupcakes
18 minutes for regular cupcakes

This recipe is extremely versatile. Today I used it for cupcakes, 24 minis & 12 regular. In the past, I have used it for both 2, 8 inch round cakes, or one 9 x 13 inch cake.

On the note of mine and my blog's apparent identity crisis. The first two times I tried to type Moonlit Kitchen, I wound up typing Moonlit Knitchen. Maybe my Freudian slip is trying to tell me something.

Virgin No More

Ikea virgin, that is. This week was my very first trip to that sought after, soul satisfying, place of glory that is Ikea.

Oh, I have poured over the catalogues for years, and browsed the website at great length. However, I have never had the uplifting experience of actually wandering through the store, until now. It was a moving experience, exhilarating yet peaceful. The main goal of the trip was to purchase loft beds for my daughters. They share a room and space has always been a bit of an issue, even with bunk beds, but it is becoming even more so as the younger approaches teendom. Loft beds seemed the best solution. The plan is they will both now have a separate bed and the space under it.

My trip to Ikea was not totally selfless, I did buy a few things and we did have lunch while there. I picked up an awesome grater, a cute potato peeler (the red one), a mesh strainer, a funky whisk, a semi-exotic tealight lantern, a couple of scented candles (clean linen & caramel), and a jar of Lingonberry jam.

We, my wonderful friend Kim and I, are already talking about another trip. I would love to spend the day just wandering through the store, instead of rushing there after work.

As for the beds, they are currently in the living room, still in their boxes. The girls' bedroom will have to be cleared and painted first, and that may take us a year or so little time.

Naturally Caffienated?

According to The Caffeine Click Test, my caffeine level is "very high". Since I haven't had any caffeine in at least 5 days, I take that to mean I must be naturally caffeinated. Funny, I don't feel caffeinated.


Created by OnePlusYou

Lime & Lime Again

In the beginning, there was pie.

After a couple of viewings of Waitress over the weekend I now have pie recipes dancing in my head and my baking demon needed to be fed, so today there was a modification of a lime meringue pie recipe I found online. I used a purchased crust, due to not having any graham crumbs. I reduced the sugar in the filling by a 1/2 cup and added about a tablespoon of toasted coconut. Oh, and I skipped the meringue and went for whipped cream with a sprinkle of lime zest. I thought it was very tasty, and the kids must have agreed as there is only half a pie left. Next time I'll try more lime juice, or maybe key limes, to bump up the limeyness. I think it will be a perfect summer dessert. Oooh, it would also make really awesome tarts. The colour is a little off, but that's probably because I left out the food colouring.


Lime Pie Filling, my adaptation:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cornstarch
3 egg yolks
2 tsp, butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 tsp lime zest

Combine sugar, cornstarch, water and lime juice in a medium saucepan, whisk until smooth. Stir in yolks and butter until well combined, gradually add boiling water. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce and simmer for 1 minute, remove from heat. Add zest and pour filling into crust. Bake 15 minutes @ 350 F. Chill and serve topped with whipped cream.


Today also brought cupcake recipe experimentation. Of course, I had to use up the egg whites left over from the pie, so Pink Lemonade Cupcakes, were the logical choice. Being that I am not always logical, I instead went with Mojito Cupcakes, a variation I dreamed up that I have been dying to try. I substituted frozen limeade concentrate for the pink lemonade concentrate, added rum extract to the batter and topped them off with a mint butter cream frosting and lime zest. My daughters quite liked them and I will be taking a few off to work tomorrow for my guinea pigs friends.

My next adventure in lime will probably be this cupcake.

(Note: I have no idea what is going on with the text spacing, maybe it's on my end. Hopefully it's just some temporary blogger glitch.)

Wild Mustard, Butter, Lemon Squeeze

Nope, they are not ingredients for a culinary endeavor. They are some of the candidates currently in the running for new paint for the living room. At least we have narrowed it down to a yellow. Now we just need to decide among the bevy of paint samples taped to the wall.

I want yellow because the room is a little dark, with only one window, and it tends to be cold in the winter. It can't be a flashy yellow, or too green a yellow. It must be warm, inviting and comfortable, with maybe just a hint of exotic spice to it. A warm, creamy yellow. Decisions, decisions.

Picked up a new DVD today, Waitress. It came highly recommended by my Foodie Girl. I loved it. I'm not usually a chick flick girl, but this one was a fun watch. Of course, now I want to go and make a pie. Ooops, I almost forgot. I'm supposed to be makin' Pecan Pie Mini Muffins for a certain boss of mine, who turned 26 on the weekend.