Beehive hat… (ari kovani sapka)

*Turkce blog icin yazinin sonundaki linki tiklayabilirsiniz.

 Noro Hat by Saartje de Bruijn (this pattern is free)
Yarn: Rozetti Panco, worsted 10 ply, 100% soft acrylic (very similar to Vanna’s choice) 100gr / 224 yard (205 meters)

Color: Dark Purple, 1/2 ball , Lavender 1/2 ball
Needles: don’t know exactly probably 6mm or 7mm, gauge : 13 stitches to 4″ (10cm)

I had this hat on my “ravelry favorites” for a while. I wasn’t planning to knit it anytime soon though, at least until next fall…
When we arrived at Eskisehir a few days ago… It would be nice to say we froze our rears off… the wind and the cold kicked our butts… of course, since we had spring in full swing back in Memphis and since I had no intentions to pack all winter, spring and summer clothes, we had no beanies for the kids… My MIL found a hat for my son, who has a huge head and would be fine with an adult size hat… my daughter on the other hand, refuses to wear hats and can only wear extra soft, loose hats, that she likes the colors of… again, she is only 2, but she is a she like many people who read this blog and I am sure most could very well relate…

I knit this hat on 2 needles instead of the circular ones that the pattern calls for because I didn’t have my needles with me. We are visiting my in laws and I didn’t bring all my needles. I felt like a chef without my own knives…

I had to knit it quickly, so I held 2 strands together of this worsted weight yarn and knitted with the largest needles in my MIL needle stash. The needles were really old and I wasn’t able to read the size. They were made in UK and in mint shape… it is bad for my blog, but good for the project. I got 13 stitches to 4” (10cm). I actually didn’t gauge my work first -I know, I know put me in knitting jail this time-, and I made a hat for my daughter’s baby doll instead (see below picture)… I wonder if I learned my lesson about gauging yet, please remind me next time when I screw up a day’s worth of work…
My daughter’s head circumference is 50cm and I cast on 65 for her hat.
For the doll’s hat, I cast on 40 which is perfect size for a newborn (this doll is huge and I am pretty sure it will fit a newborn). Again, don’t forget, I held 2 strands together and got 13 stitches to 4”.

I knit 4 rows, purled 4 rows with the same color ( 8 rows per color) per original directions. This pattern is so simple, yet very clever and looks amazing.

My daughter is one of those toddlers who refuses to wear hats, so far she loved this hat, because it’s a bit loose on her head without falling on her eyes…

The yarn that I used was purchased by my husband’s aunt here at the local yarn store and is almost identical to Vanna’s Choice. It might very well be from the factory who makes Vanna’s choice, since that’s also made in Turkey.

The last modification I made was I made decreases early on and more agressively. I started after 32 rows. First I decreased twice on alternating rows, then on every row. Again, I used 2 needles and knew that the “beehive” effect wasn’t going to happen… All I needed to knit was 40 rows on 2 needles…

I am pretty happy with how this pattern turned out. And will make more with using DK weight and circular needles…

Daisy my love… thank you my love…

Instead of the Elmo pinata that I wished for, here’s what I got from my husband for my birthday!!!

For some reason these wild daisies are not available where we live in the US… I guess, since you can pick them up for free, they don’t care to sell them?? Shame on them!!

I have always been in love with them, and this was also my husband’s first birthday gift when we started dating… it was a great surprise, and we filled 4 vases with it!!! the next time I am planning to ask him for a flower bucket to go along with it…

Hugs and happy spring… g.

Turkish Empanadas / Pogaca

*Turkce blog icin yazinin sonundaki linke tiklayiniz…

I apologize  for not being able to update the blog for the past few days… We travelled from the US to Turkey… As many of you know we have twin toddlers and it’s a lot of work to fly with them. Add to that tiredness level some jetlag and you have the perfect storm situation for ignoring your blog…

I am very excited about the next few months that I will be blogging from Turkey though… It’s impossible not to be inspired from local produce and local food here. I hope to share lots of recipes and stories for sure… For my knitter readers, I am planning to hit the local yarn stores and post info on them…

Today’s blog topic is again a “staple baked good” in Turkey. I actually didn’t even like naming them empanadas… Yet again, “empanada” or “pogaca” type baked good is not yet adapted to the English language. I am sure you got the idea.

This recipe is from many of the newspaper clippings that my mother left me. She loved clipping things from newspapers, from recipes to skincare tips… she loved reading every little detail on the paper… and I inherited a huge stack of them. I love the recipe for it’s use of vinegar. Anytime vinegar enters a pastry and if it works I adopt and adore that recipe… It just adds a crunch and nice crumbly-melt-in-your-mouth texture when it works…

I also noticed that one of the food blogs that I follow, Shuna writes her ingredients as “item first, measurement last”… She also has an explanation here. I liked it a lot, it was a lot easier for me to read and double up her recipes. Please let me know what you think.

Mom’s Pogaca

Ingredients:

• Extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 cup
• Melted butter, 1/2 cup
• Whole milk yogurt, plain, 1/2 cup
• Egg, 1 whole
• Vinegar, 1 tablespoon
• Baking powder, 1 teaspoon
• All purpose flour, 2-2.5 cups

for top: 1 egg yolk, black cumin or black sesame seeds

-Pour the melted butter and the olive oil in a deep bowl

-Add the yogurt and egg, mix. Add the vinegar and the baking powder

-Slowly mix in the flour… First mix the 2 cups… The dough needs to be soft but workable… Add until it becomes a ball. In winter I tend to use about 2.5 cups in summer I tend to add more…

-Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

-While the dough is resting prepare favorite filling. We like feta cheese or potato filling.

• for feta cheese filling: Mix 1/2 lb of feta with 1/4 cup parsley. Add paprika and pepper.
• for potato filling: boil 2 med size potatoes. Dice, add tomato paste as an option. Add paprika and pepper.

-Form walnut size balls, press the balls between your palm to make discs. Put 1 teaspoonful filling in the middle. Close and seal the edges to make “D” shape.

-Brush with egg yolk, and sprinkle black sesame seeds…

-Bake at 385F for 20-25 minutes until  the bottoms are golden brown.

Cyber hugs, g.

Birthday wish…

I know this is a food related blog and all… and this is a food related post… My birthday wish is to have an Elmo pinata… I actually fantasize about it each time I hear “wa wa wes, Elmo mooommmy”… like 40 times a day… see my fantasy brought to life on youtube…

All occasion “cupcakes”… (cupcake veya minikek)

*Turkce tarif icin yazinin sonundaki linke tiklayabilirsiniz!

I don’t know what to name these cupcakes… I am actually not feeling very creative today… Of course, and unfortunately, blogging is not what I do for a living… My husband and I own a marble and tile business… we had to move the business to another location… if you haven’t carried a piece of natural stone tile yet… think about how much 5 porcelain plates weigh and that’s roughly how much just one tile weighs… of course marble tiles come in boxes… and those boxes weigh about 80 lbs each… those boxes come in crates… the crates weigh about 2000 lbs (which we cannot carry by manpower of course)… in total we moved 150 crates… 9 full truckloads… of course there were lots of boxes of tile moved, carried, consolidated… and lots and lots of office stuff… then we moved to the new location, which is very industrial and we basically took over a big empty box… and then we fixed that box and made a showroom out of it…in about 6 days… there was so much drama going on, I thought it might also be a good idea to start a business blog… oh well… if not, I might post pictures soon of this move and the business just for variety purposes…

Until then, I just need some therapy in the form of cooking and knitting … I have been too tired to do both… But we still did cook in this house out of necessity… We have 6 hungry people to feed each day.

These cupcakes were made last weekend, knowing this week would be a tough one and I just needed the good energy…

Turkish pastry culture doesn’t have “cupcakes” in  it… We don’t even have a name for them, I googled and made translation up… Still, cupcakes are just loved by adults and now the kids in this house… This is a basic cupcake recipe that gives me good results without too much hassle… no flour sifting, no egg separating and they rise perfectly. I modified a recipe by Gale Gand from years ago. I used to watch her show a lot and printed out a recipe from the food network site. I am not even sure if she still has the TV show… The original recipe was called “Cupcake Christmas Tree”… and I heavily modified it…

All Occasion Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I prefer canola)
• (2 tablespoons dark cocoa for chocolate cupcakes)

-Preheat oven to 375F.

-Put paper cups in 2 muffin tin trays. You might have to bake in batches.

-Mix sugar, flour, baking powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs and milk… Slowly add the vegetable oil.

-Fill the cups halfway.

-Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown to light brown on top.

-If you want to create a variety, add 2 tablespoons dark cocoa to the next batch. If too thick add a splash of milk.

As for frosting: The original recipe calls for buttercream… I still could not find a buttercream that I like… The unmelted confectioner’s sugar in buttercream bothers me so much… Just like me, eat them however you like… These are so good, even without frosting… 

-Serve with your favorite frosting on the side with colorful fruits, sprinkles and whatever you have got in your baker’s pantry…

Yum… Yummm…YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until next time… g.